• by Ray Schultz , November 12, 2023

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has teamed up with 16 partner organizations to create the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism.

Work on the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism was started last July, chaired by Maria Ressa, the journalist awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. The charter's release coincides with the Paris Peace Forum. 

The charter defines 10 principles, including:

• Ethics must govern technological choices within the media.
• Human agency must remain central in editorial decisions.
• The media must help society to distinguish between authentic and synthetic content with confidence.
• The media must participate in global AI governance and defend the viability of journalism when negotiating with tech companies.

"AI exacerbates what is already an existential moment for journalism,” Ressa says. “While it promises new opportunities, it also brings significant threats to the integrity of information. Technological innovation doesn’t inherently lead to progress: it must be steered by ethics to truly benefit humanity."

The participating organizations include:

• Committee to Protect Journalists
• Canadian Journalism Foundation
• DW Akademie
• European Journalism Centre 
• Ethical Journalism Network 
• Free Press Unlimited
• Global Forum for Media Development 
• International Press Institute Pulitzer CentreThomson Foundation
• European Federation of Journalists
• Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
• Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa
• Global Investigative Journalism Network
• International Consortium of Investigative 
• Journalists and Organized Crime 
• Corruption Reporting Project

“Together with our partners, we call on reporters, editors and news organizations around the world to take ownership of these principles, to proclaim them, and to implement them in what they do,” Christophe Deloire, RSF secretary-general.