Thank you to everyone who joined us at the House of Lords this week for our first event of the year. A special thanks to The Rt Hon Lord Mendelsohn of Finchley for the invitation, setting the stage for a thought-provoking evening exploring the intersection of AI and publishing.
Our panel, chaired by Greg Williams, editor of WIRED, featured insights from Nina Schick, Founder and CEO, Tamang Ventures; Thangam Debbonaire, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Adam Barnett, Senior Director, Production EMEA, Shutterstock Studios; and Emma Wright, leader of the Technology, Data and Digital team at Harbottle & Lewis.
The mass adoption of generative AI consumer products such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, could have a significant impact on a wide range of industries, including the magazine sector. Publishers, many of whom have changed their business models to incorporate the rise of social media platforms, are rightly taking notice of tools that can be used to create low-quality content that potentially threaten jobs as well as journalistic integrity and contribute to the spread of disinformation. Moreover, their intellectual property is threatened as the technology companies building these platforms are training their models on content that is publisher owned.
The discussion panel included; Greg Williams, Nina Schick, Emma Wright and Adam Barnett
The discussion ranged widely, touching on the impact of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney on the publishing landscape, and shedding light on the challenges and opportunities these technologies bring.
"There are concerns that we are unleashing something we don't really understand. I think from a journalistic perspective, it raises some very old questions, not least what generative AI will do to the information ecosystem which has already been degraded by widespread mistrust and disinformation” - Greg Williams
"The current massive issue is how LLM's have been built, and whether they have used material that is protected by copyright to build these machines... it's a bit like having an umbrella with a tsunami coming because you’re small and they’re massive." - Emma Wright
“You have to conceive of it as an intelligence revolution. We are going to see AI systems integrated into the fabric of life... certainly, they are going to be performing in our work life and also in our personal lives as they become integrated into our devices." - Nina Schick
"A good friend of mine who is involved in the publishing world said to me, 'The thing is, you need to keep the presence of the human somewhere’.” - Thangam Debbonaire
"I believe it will enable more creativity. We're already seeing people utilise the early stages of conceptual stuff—not to replace but to assist and enhance creativity.” - Adam Barnett
BSME committee members and ambassadors: Cliff Joannou, Laura Bartlett, Laurence Mozafari, Deborah Joseph, Gideon Spanier, Andrea Thompson, Andrew Diprose, Lisa Smosarski, Greg Williams. Photos: David Cotter
PODCAST
We were not permitted to film the discussion in the House of Lords, however we did record the event. Listen to the podcast of the complete session. Click below.
