The News Product AI Collaboration Lab [NPAI Co-Lab], in partnership with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, aims to leverage AI to tackle one of the most pressing challenges facing the news industry: Better understanding and engaging audiences to build sustainable news organizations.
No matter a newsroom’s size or resources, they have a competitive advantage in the proprietary data they have about their audience. Whether quantitative or qualitative, this first-party data is valuable and often under-utilized due to its diverse sources and lack of consistent structure.
In the age of AI, the media industry faces yet another crucial juncture: Take ownership of these new tools to ensure they are used responsibly to improve civic engagement and community connection, or outsource these solutions to third-party tech companies following their own priorities.
The NPAI Co-Lab will work with industry stakeholders — including product leaders from small and non-profit newsrooms, universities, research organizations, JSOs, engagement specialists, and other experts — to develop a library of accessible and open-source AI applications that leverage first-party data and create an inclusive space to share tools and best practices that support the development of successful journalism businesses.
This effort isn’t solely about building and adopting new technology — it’s an opportunity to demonstrate a collaborative way of working together across the news ecosystem to multiply our resources and accelerate product innovation. That’s why we’re taking a “constellation” approach of supporting a network of interconnected pilot projects to assemble and test the best ideas.