Media CEOs Debate AI Deals, Deepfakes

Generative AI was a topic of hot debate on Tuesday at Deloitte’s Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference in London where a panel of newspaper and media company bosses discussed deals with artificial intelligence firms.

The executives on the panel included Anna Bateson, CEO of Guardian Media Group, The Sun publisher Dominic Carter, Telegraph Media Group CEO Anna Jones, Rich Caccappolo, the CEO of The Daily Mail owner DMG Media, and ITN CEO Rachel Corp.

“What AI can’t do is replace journalism,” Carter argued. “Journalism is human endeavor.” In comparison, an election season, such as in the U.K. right now, is especially a time when deepfakes may surface.

Asked about Sun owner News Corp.’s recent deal with OpenAI, Carter said “control is really important,” along with transparency, “and then accountability.”

Could AI deals bring in money but be followed by industry headaches as seen in past deals with social media firms? Social media agreements were all about traffic generation, and for many years, “we all enjoyed” that, Carter said. But the hopes and promises of benefits for newspaper companies soon turned out to have been overblown, executives suggested.

Bateson said the Guardian was open to possible AI and other technology deals but only if they ensure “fundamental respect for copyright” and monetization. She added that the government must balance technology innovation with potential regulation to avoid harm. “The right regulatory framework” will include copyright protections and ensuring accountability, she suggested.

Being “fairly compensated” will allow media companies to reinvest AI company-related revenue into news operations and news generation, Jones argued.

Meanwhile, Corp said fact-checking is more important than ever amid the risk of misinformation and AI- or otherwise generated fakes. “There is a danger there,” but so far this election season the industry hasn’t seen much, she said. Corp cited as a potential example of a deepfake that would be difficult to counter with traditional reporting a possible faked video released on election day showing the British Prime Minister high-fiving Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying such a video would likely spread quickly on social media, while reporting guidelines would restrict media outlets on election day.

During an appearance following the panel, Amazon U.K. country manager John Boumphrey called generative AI the “most transformational” technology since the advent of the internet. He said that every team and unit at Amazon was looking at ways to apply AI.

And Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries later also mentioned AI in his appearance, but mostly as an efficiency tool. “There are concerns on AI,” especially social and content-related concerns, he acknowledged. But AI technology already helps his firm save 20 seconds per customer service call in the Netherlands, Fries explained.

Later in the conference day, Google’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) president Matt Brittin will also discuss artificial intelligence in a session along with investor Sherry Coutu. Coutu serves as a non-executive board member of the U.K.’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the London Stock Exchange and Pearson, and previously also served on the advisory board of LinkedIn.

The Edinburgh TV Festival recently also unveiled a spotlight on AI, with Black Eyed Peas bandleader will.i.am set to discuss the technology and the future of creativity at the annual industry event in August.

Among the other big names presenting at the Deloitte conference on Tuesday were the likes of Netflix, represented by co-CEO Greg Peters, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Andrew Georgiou, Sky CEO Dana Strong, and Walt Disney’s Jan Koeppen.