Mashable, PC Mag union wins guarantees against AI

The editorial union for Mashable and PC Mag has successfully bargained for protections against generative artificial intelligence, reports Andrew Deck of Nieman Lab.

Deck writes, “The language around AI in the contract, which I reviewed, doesn’t place specific restrictions on the way generative AI is used in the editorial process — say, whether it can be used to write headlines, for reporting, or to draft articles in their entirety. But it requires that any content created by generative AI ‘be done at the direction of and with the editorial review of human beings with editing responsibilities.’

“Last fall, Ziff Davis entered a partnership with the generative AI company Xyla, and announced plans to integrate Xyla’s medical text generation tool into its health and wellness sites. To date, there have been no reports of Mashable, Lifehacker or PC Mag publishing AI-generated content.

“If the company does decide to publish AI-generated text on those sites, the contract requires the stories be clearly labeled as ‘AI-generated content.’ If the AI-generated content is in audio or video form, the disclosure has to occur in the actual video or audio, not only in the text description.”

Read more here.