• by Ray Schultz , July 14, 2022

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Pulitzer Center have launched a program to support journalists working on artificial intelligence and surveillance. 

Ten journalists from four continents, the Center’s first cohort of Artificial Intelligence Accountability Fellows, are pursuing stories about AI in hiring, surveillance, social welfare, policing, migration and border control. 

Attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom will work with the journalists to vet stories to prevent legal risk and to provide other pro bono legal assistance regarding First Amendment and other issues.

“Our attorneys are looking forward to providing the AI fellows with much-needed legal support to help them pursue and publish this important work with greater confidence,” states Katie Townsend, deputy executive director and legal director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. 

The 10 Accountability Fellows are:

• Ann Babe (United States)
• Arijit Douglas Sen (United States)
• Gabriel Geiger (Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Denmark)
• Hilke Schellmann (United States)
• Karen Naundorf (Argentina, Brazil)
• Sarah Pabst (Argentina, Brazil)
• Kumar Sambhav (India)
• Lam Thuy Vo (United States)
• Lydia Emmanouilidou (Greece, United States)
• Varsha Bansal (India)

“Reporting on the impact of AI technologies, especially in marginalized and vulnerable communities, is urgent and foundational to democracy,” states Marina Walker Guevara, the Pulitzer Center’s executive editor. 

Guevara adds, “We are grateful that the AI Fellows will have the support of the Reporters Committee’s world-class and dedicated attorneys as they pursue their stories.