Type will not use AI to replace any union position, nor will it replace our journalists, or the creative work of a human researcher, editor, author, designer, illustrator, or translator.
We recognize that AI is a tool that can be used for journalistic innovation, but it cannot replace the human judgment, empathy, and investigation required for our work. Type Investigations’ use of AI is governed by the following principles, which are at the core of all of our journalistic work:
- Transparency: Journalists using AI as a reporting or research tool will disclose its usage to their editor or manager, and, where relevant, to partner publications. If AI plays a meaningful role in the reporting of a story or production of published content, we will prominently disclose its use to our audience.
- Accuracy: We will treat information generated by an AI tool as unverified source material. Our journalists are responsible for vetting AI-generated information before incorporating it into their reporting, which will also be subject to our standard fact-check process.
- Accountability: Our journalists are responsible for the work they produce, and any AI use will be held to the same editorial standards as the rest of our journalism. That includes being mindful of AI tools’ tendency to introduce racial, religious, or political biases and vetting AI-generated information accordingly.
- Data protection: In the interest of protecting our sources and journalistic processes, we will limit our use of AI tools to secure models that will protect and isolate data from training models. We will not input sensitive reporting materials (including interviews and documents) or unpublished drafts into AI tools that may train on our data. If a journalist is unsure about the data protection parameters of a particular AI tool, they will consult their editor and/or IT support personnel.
- Originality: AI tools are not a substitute for the essential work of conceptualizing, organizing, planning, verifying, and writing. They should not replace skill development but can be used to build on a journalist’s existing knowledge and abilities.
These principles apply to the work of our staff and the journalists whose work we support. We will share this policy with freelance and staffers at partner publications at the start of every project.