Bavarian Press Chief Warns of AI Risks Without Regulation
Journalistic content should not be sold out to artificial intelligence (AI), the head of the Association of Bavarian Newspaper Publishers (VBZV), Andreas Scherer, cautioned at the association’s annual meeting on Wednesday.
Without effective regulation, AI threatened not only the journalistic business model, but also free and professional reporting as a pillar of democracy, Scherer said at the event held in Brussels.
He noted that the large AI platforms were using the content produced by newspaper publishers to train their systems and for their own business models.
Automated preparation and production of journalistic content were replacing original journalism, and this represented a creeping loss of substance for press outlets, as well as for press freedom, Scherer said.
Leading conservative politicians from Bavaria and Europe, Manfred Weber, highlighted the significance of an independent media. “A vibrant and varied press ecosystem is essential to the fabric of European living,” he stated at the gathering.
During the meeting, Scherer’s continuation in his position for an additional two years was approved.
The VBZV encompasses 33 Bavarian media entities, including their digital offshoots and individual contributors.