How should news organizations label their AI use for audiences? New studies suggest some answers

Two studies published in the journal Digital Journalism explore how audiences perceive news organizations' use of artificial intelligence and how these organizations should disclose their AI practices. The first study, "The effects of generative AI in news on media credibility and selectivity: Evidence from a conjoint experiment in Chile," conducted by Sebastián Valenzuela, Ingrid Bachmann, Porismita Borah, and Natalia Solís Valdés, involved participants comparing different AI policies from media outlets. The findings indicated that human oversight was the most critical factor influencing credibility, with outlets requiring human review of AI-generated content being perceived as more trustworthy and preferred as news sources. Disclosure of generative AI use was also deemed important for credibility and news consumption. Participants showed a preference for outlets that limited AI's role to objective news stories rather than content requiring nuance and interpretation, and they were less likely to trust or use outlets where AI automated both types of content.