In 2024, the EBU designated AI a strategic priority and is supporting its Members to implement AI tools knowledgably, effectively, and in the best interests of audiences. In this new publication, the EBU communities of News, Technology & Innovation, Digital, and Legal & Policy have extracted the hot button topics around generative AI for public service media. The text notes the potential positive and negative impacts of generative AI on public service media’s ability to function properly and calls for a coordinated approach covering: data use, source attribution and display, as well as prominence / verification. 

While we've seen many data-driven developments, the emergence of generative AI is somewhat surprising. It's yet another disruption in a long line of shifts impacting media. EBU is steadfast in its commitment to serve as a guiding light for Members in this complex area. AI impacts all workflows and must, therefore, be approached holistically. We should not consider AI strategies, but integrate AI into our overall strategies. This paper brings together the early learnings of some of our Members: 10 tangible tips that almost read as a checklist.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of the public debate. With the impact of AI set to become so great, the Media Intelligence Service (MIS) has produced this report to provide clearer insights into how PSM organizations are grappling with the fast-growing AI market. So far, PSMs have been quick to respond to advances in Generative AI, with 76% having updated their business strategy since the release of ChatGPT. Find out who the main players are, the challenges ahead, and the AI state of play in PSM organizations. You can take a closer look at AI usage for PSM, specifically strategy, level of usage, ethics, staff and budget dedicated...

The recent acceleration in the capabilities and availability of generative AI tools means they're likely to have a significant impact on the production and distribution of news content. The EBU has created a cross-departmental and cross-committee task force to study the topic. Initiated by the News and Digital committees, and coordinated by the AI and Data Initiative (AIDI), the EBU Task Force on Generative AI consists of representatives from the News Committee, Digital Committee and Technical Committee, together with the departments of Technology & Innovation, News, Media, and Legal & Policy, as well as expert members. Together, the EBU Task...

Why does one piece music reduce us to tears, while another induces downright revulsion? Science has no satisfactory answer to this question but, unquestionably, when we evaluate a piece of literature, art, drama, dance, or music, it’s our feelings that cast the deciding vote. Last year, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE sought to shed light on musical preference by having a symphony orchestra perform AI-generated music to an unwitting audience. Can machine-written music speak to the human soul? And how else might AI be utilized to enhance RTVE’s audience experience?

Everywhere, people are talking about the potential of artificial intelligence to help us, hurt us, and change the world. AI is already a decisive force in many settings, including children’s TV production at SVT, where executive producer Calle Gisselsson is using several off-the-shelf tools to make children’s content. In less than a year, Calle and his team have taught themselves how to use AI to make original, audience-pleasing content in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost. But laws governing AI are lagging, which means the technology carries unknowns that force Public Service Media (PSM) TV makers to be ultra-wary about how...

Picture a machine that can turn your weirdest imaginings into lifelike films that the whole world can watch. That machine is real, and its name is Sora. Ask it to show you ‘a drunk horse, dressed as a priest in high heels, running clumsily on a treadmill and laughing’, and in seconds the ridiculous, borderline blasphemous clip will appear. AI watchers are prone to breathless prophecies of seismic change. But when it comes to Sora, the generative text-to-video platform that OpenAI unleashed this year, they’re almost certainly right. Doubters need only marvel for a moment at this extraordinary YouTube gallery of hallucinogenic Sora creations. As...