Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists have made history by revealing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in reporting, marking a major milestone in journalism.
Pulitzer Prize Administrator Marjorie Miller said the Pulitzer Center is focusing on the use of AI by journalists, as five of this year's 45 finalists disclosed their use of AI in their research, reporting, and writing. It was announced that further investigation would be carried out.
Journalists from City Bureau and the Invisible Institute employed machine learning for the investigative piece “Chicago Missing,” poring over thousands of police misconduct files, according to the Nieman Institute's website.
On the other hand, the visual investigation desk new york times Using a data-driven visual model, we identified the crater of a 2,000-pound bomb based on visual cues, revealing an example of a bomb hitting a civilian safe zone in Gaza.
Read: How could ChatGPT impact journalism?
The other three finalists have also incorporated AI into their reports, covering topics such as Hurricane Ian, issues in Florida retirement communities, and gun violence in the United States.
“Missing in Chicago” exposed the failures of the Chicago Police Department to search for missing and murdered black women. After years of investigation, the reporting team utilized a machine learning tool named Judy to analyze the text of her police misconduct records and files from 2011 to 2015, ultimately uncovering key findings. brought about a discovery.
In another example, New York Times' Visual Desk released a report on the Gaza conflict in December 2023. The team trained tools to identify craters left by 2,000-pound bombs, Israel's main weapon, which caused massive damage in Gaza. The research team used satellite imagery to identify hundreds of bomb craters in southern Gaza, revealing the impact of Israel's military actions.
These examples highlight the positive and constructive role of AI in investigative reporting and demonstrate its potential to increase the depth and scope of reporting.
