OpenAI and Microsoft are jointly investing $10 million in an AI project to boost local news media in the US. As Axios’ Sara Fischer reports, the project will be led by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute and will include a grant program for an initial five major urban news organizations, including Chicago Public Media, The Minnesota Star Tribune and The Seattle Times.
Both technology companies are contributing $5 million each in direct grants and corporate loans. Each participating news organization will receive $500,000 to hire an AI expert for two years, as well as access to OpenAI and Microsoft Azure services. The news organizations plan to use AI in a variety of ways: The Philadelphia Inquirer is developing a search interface for archives, The Seattle Times is focusing on advertising and distribution, while Chicago Public Media wants to use AI for transcriptions and translations.