Central Florida Public Media’s Policy on Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)

Generative Artificial Intelligence is a technology able to generate images, text, audio, video, etc., typically through prompts made by a user.

Central Florida Public Media’s journalism rests on the pillars of integrity, accuracy, independence, humanity, and transparency. Our audience counts on our journalists to maintain the highest standards in all of these areas through their knowledge, thoroughness, and creativity. As we approach artificial intelligence, every tool evaluated must be able to answer affirmatively how it will strengthen and maintain these pillars without endangering or putting any of them at risk.

Human journalists will always create our journalism. On the rare occasions that GAI is used to assist with the creation of work, we commit to appropriately disclosing the use of GAI to our audiences.

Our work in GAI is guided by what will be helpful to audiences as we serve them.

Guideline: Staff, journalists, producers, etc., are responsible for the work they create, with or without the use of GAI

• Any GAI-assisted results must undergo thorough scrutiny and should be fact-checked and verified. Ultimately, Central Florida Public Media employees bear full responsibility for their work and are subject to the same values and tenets prescribed in our Ethical Guidelines – regardless of whether GAI plays a role in our workflow processes.

Guideline: If GAI played a significant role in the work, staff, journalists, producers, etc., may need to share that fact with audiences and/or peers.

• Central Florida Public Media will adhere to a “no-surprises strategy.” We will clearly inform the public in the extremely rare cases where our journalism includes AI-generated material.
• If staff or journalists use GAI to assist certain aspects of a workflow, such as helping transcribe an interview, organizing large data sets, or synthesizing legal documents to help with understanding, it may be necessary to disclose these applications to the audience. Journalists should always consult with a supervising editor or the News Director. Other staff should consult their supervisor.

• Within our organization, staff will keep their colleagues and leadership informed if or when we integrate GAI into our workflow processes. This transparency will foster shared learning and enable us to develop relevant, adaptable policies as these technologies continue to advance. When using GAI for research, headline generation, or mining public databases, it's essential that the staff member’s supervisor is informed so they can discuss best practices and whether any public disclosures are necessary.

Guideline: Protect our own work

• Generative AI tools (like ChatGPT) can save and learn from what a person types into them. Because of this, we ask staff not to enter any internal company information into these tools unless they have permission from their supervisor. This includes anything created as part of their work that is not intended for public consumption—like meeting notes, news story drafts, raw audio recordings, memos, or internal documents. If it’s something unique to our company and not meant to be shared outside, we treat it as private and don’t put it into AI tools. If staff members are unsure whether something is okay to share, they are expected to ask their supervisor first.

Guideline: Central Florida Public Media will not use GAI to replicate, reproduce, or replace a human voice, image, or likeness in its work

• Central Florida Public Media will not use GAI to replicate, reproduce, or replace any voice, image, or likeness in its journalistic work, marketing, or other public-facing uses.

Guideline: Staff are expected to flag GAI-related concerns as well as calls for consideration of new tools and potential solutions

• Central Florida Public Media commits to upholding a committee dedicated to ensuring the ethical and responsible use of GAI throughout our work and journalism. Its responsibilities include convening quarterly to assess existing GAI use cases, address any recently identified ethical concerns, and evaluate proposals for new services or solutions. This committee can also gather on an immediate basis if needed.
• Staff are encouraged to contact Central Florida Public Media’s AI committee via ai@cfpublic.org with any questions, input, or recommendations.
• Central Florida Public Media’s GAI Policy will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis, and more frequently if needed, to reflect the evolving nature of GAI technologies and the needs of the organization.

Guideline: GAI, when used responsibly, can provide support to journalists and staff

• GAI can help journalists and staff complete tasks that are "challenging yet verifiable," such as summarizing legal documents, optimizing social media copy, creating templates for internal documentation, and discovering synonyms, in addition to transcription tools already commonplace throughout Central Florida Public Media’s production environments.
• Journalists who want to use GAI tools should seek guidance from their supervising editor or the News Director. Through continued usage, we will gain deeper insights into the capabilities and limitations of these tools, prompting revisions to our guidelines.
• Other staff who want to use GAI tools should seek guidance from their supervisor.