Artificial intelligence — and how we use it — is changing by the day.
In the year since Poynter first convened news and product leaders to discuss the ethical considerations of introducing AI into newsrooms, we’ve witnessed the arrival of new AI platforms, the explosion of chatbots as search engines and a major shift in how AI is showing up in news.
Newsrooms on a local and national level are experimenting with AI, using tools inside the newsroom to better report and display stories, and tools externally to better connect with audiences. But audiences, new research shows, are still skeptical about generative AI in news.
This year’s Summit on AI, Ethics and Journalism, led by Poynter and The Associated Press, unfolded over two days in New York City’s financial district at the AP’s headquarters.
Here’s a brief summit recap through images:
MediaWise director Alex Mahadevan kicks off the 2025 AI summit with Poynter’s Tony Elkins, AP’s Aimee Rinehart (left) and Poynter’s Kelly McBride (right). (Courtesy)
(Left to right) Emily Bell, of Columbia Journalism School, Margaret Sullivan, of the Craig Newmark Center, and Rubina Fillion, of the New York Times, discuss what newsrooms should expect in the months ahead as AI continues to reshape journalism, from ethical dilemmas and policy shifts to emerging tools and audience expectations. (Courtesy: Keith Hughes)
In a panel moderated by Nikita Roy (far right), panelists (l-r) Garance Burke of the Associated Press, Lam Thuy Vo of CUNY and Documented, and Phoebe Connelly of the Washington Post, discuss how newsroom leaders build internal AI expertise, foster responsible AI leadership and strategies for training staff to navigate AI’s evolving role in journalism. (Courtesy)
How do news audiences truly feel about artificial intelligence? Up to this point, it’s been hard to gauge. Benjamin Toff, associate professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and director of the Minnesota Journalism Center, unveiled new research that showed news audiences are still skeptical about AI and how newsrooms use it. Read the survey results here.
Research presented by researcher Benjamin Toff showed that many people already think news outlets use AI at least ‘sometimes.’ 
The higher the news literacy, the less confidence a person will have in newsrooms using AI to create articles and images, the survey said.
A majority of audiences believe AI disclosure is essential. 
Audiences want newsrooms to establish ethical guidelines before using AI, Toff said.
Audiences want transparency, Toff said. They are afraid of being deceived, fearing the loss of human connection and deeply concerned about how technology is exacerbating isolation.
“People want disclosure,” Toff said. “Their reflexive default is, ‘Tell me when (AI) is being used.’”
Poynter faculty Tony Elkins speaks about AI-generated visuals and educating audiences to spot them with speakers (from left to right): Aimee Rinehart and Aaron Jackson, both of the AP, and Ben Collins of The Onion. (Courtesy)
The Onion CEO Ben Collins had a simple question for the room: “When was the last time” artificial intelligence made you laugh?
His case was that AI can’t write a good joke because jokes come from things “that haven’t happened yet.”
Author and professor Meredith Broussard spoke about the impacts of using computers or AI trying to make social decisions. (Courtesy)
“All of the problems that are easy to solve with technology have been solved and things we’re left with are … longstanding social problems,” Broussard said, adding that we can’t code our way our of centuries-long societal issues.
She continued: “As media, we are responsible for holding power to account. We are responsible for holding algorithms and their creators for the social problems these algorithms are exacerbating.”
