NZME cops criticism after using AI to write editorial

Media publisher NZME has come under fire for admitting it used artificial intelligence to create editorials that ran in the Weekend Herald and other publications, with a media commentator saying it "can only damage trust".

RNZ's Mediawatch revealed late Wednesday that NZME had used AI to write an editorial about "Who the All Blacks should pick to play at centre" that ran first in the Weekend Herald on 20 July and another piece about MMA professional Israel Adesanya.

A statement from NZME editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness said AI was used in a way that fell short of its standards and "more journalistic rigour would have been beneficial".

NZME's standards don't mandate disclosure but do say stories should be attributed to "the author and/or the creator/provider of the material" in accordance with the company's Code of Ethics.

A co-author of the annual AUT Trust in News report, Dr Greg Treadwell, told Midday Report it was a poor experiment in AI use.

"I think New Zealanders have to be realistic about the fact AI is going to work its way into the production of news, but I think the Herald has kind of admitted this was a pretty poor experiment in it for a number of reasons, I think."

Treadwell said the role of the editorial in any major news publication was to be an opinion leader.

"I don't know how many of your readers have actually gone back to have a look at the editorial that the Herald published, but it was sort of a generalist roundup of the arguments for and against Reiko Ioane at centre in the All Blacks back line - not a world-shattering issue, but a really good example of how AI doesn't really, can't really do what an editorial should do, which is to take a position on something.

"If you ask it to take a position, it will, and if you ask it to take another position, it will take that position.

"What is lacking here, even if you ask [AI] to take positions, is the original argument we would look to our senior journalists to put into the public dominion for us about important issues."

Public trust in the media was falling and media companies needed to reassure the public it could be trusted, he said.

"When the public hears that AI is being used in places - and perhaps most importantly here is that it wasn't acknowledged that was being used to create this editorial - then that can only damage trust.

"I think there's a lot of issues here including that AI can be incredibly useful for data analysis and other things in journalism, but we just have to be incredibly transparent about how we're using it."

Former Herald editor-in-chief and prominent media commentator Tim Murphy joked on social media the editorial may "have achieved another world first for NZ".

The revelation was also panned by some competitor publications, with the National Business Review's official X account noting that "NBR journalists are intelligent. Not artificial."

RNZ also approached New Zealand Rugby to ask their thoughts on NZME using AI to analyse the All Black team selection.

In a statement, NZR said it recognised the need for media organisations to have well-established editorial policies and standards.

"These ensure high quality sports journalism and play an important role in telling rugby's stories.

"NZR is satisfied that the New Zealand Herald has made the appropriate steps to amend the story in question."

"The Herald and other NZME publications use AI to improve our journalism. In some cases, we also create stories entirely using AI tools," says an explanatory article headlined NZME, NZ Herald and our use of AI.

"We believe that smart use of AI allows us to publish better journalism. We remain committed to our Code of Ethics and to the integrity of our journalism, regardless of whether or not we use AI tools to help with the production or processing of articles."