Executive Summary
Predatory business practices and failed public policy have made the spread of artificial intelligence a potentially existential threat to journalism. Artificial intelligence companies rely on journalists’ work to train their models while offering little or no compensation. At the same time, AI-generated news summaries divert readers from original reporting. Small, local, and independent publications are especially vulnerable, lacking the resources to pursue legal remedies or negotiate fair terms with AI companies.
Despite numerous public policy proposals, none have been implemented at the federal level, let alone provided meaningful relief to journalists and content creators. New technology could, however, offer an important step toward a solution if properly regulated. Cloudflare, which manages about 20 percent of global web traffic, now makes it harder for AI companies to scrape content from third-party websites without permission or payment. This could reduce the growing market power imbalance between journalists and Big Tech. However, as internet history shows, there are significant downside risks that government policy must address.
Courtney C. Radsch, PhD, is the director of the Center for Journalism & Liberty at Open Markets Institute and a global thought leader on technology, AI, and the media.
Phillip Longman is a senior editor at the Washington Monthly magazine and policy director at the Open Markets Institute.
