Journalism Meets AI

The Public Tech Media Lab has partnered with local newsrooms to develop AI guidelines. Jaime Espinoza

The rise of artificial intelligence technologies is changing the way journalists report on some of the most pressing issues. But while AI remains controversial, it also has the potential to be a valuable tool for newsrooms, provided those working in the media landscape are equipped to use it responsibly and hold it accountable.

One of the biggest challenges facing newsrooms with AI is the pace at which new technologies are entering the field. By leading the new Public Tech Media Lab, Tomás Dodds aims to bridge the gap between AI and journalism and research the impact one may have on the other.

“Journalism studies tend to be very extractivist, which means that we usually interview journalists, then write papers that not a lot of people outside academia are going to read. Rarely does academic knowledge become actionable,” explains Dodds, a new faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “Based on the Wisconsin Idea, I felt that we were missing a space where we could bring together practitioners, journalists, academics, and researchers to help newsrooms make responsible technological decisions.”

The Public Tech Media Lab has partnered with local newsrooms to develop AI guidelines and adopt systems that support their work while adhering to core reporting values and standards. These systems could include in-house large language models or ethical AI-assisted recording platforms that journalists can trust with sensitive or private information. That could reduce dependence on large technology platforms, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or Otter.ai.

While one of the lab’s goals is to support local newsrooms through discussions and the adoption of AI tools, Dodds says it also aims to expand these resources beyond Madison to benefit academia and media organizations globally. All resources and tools developed by the lab will have open access, ensuring transparency. The lab also plans to provide additional opportunities to educate journalists on open-source investigations, including how information circulates and how to employ data-collection strategies to leverage publicly available sources.

“There are very few universities doing anything with open-source intelligence, so UW–Madison has the opportunity to be a pioneer on this particular topic,” Dodds says.

Published in the Fall 2026 issue