At The Nevada Independent, we believe the human mind is irreplaceable in driving creative, incisive reporting that answers the most important questions facing our world. As artificial intelligence technologies evolve, we want to explore ways that it can free staff time from tedious tasks, empowering reporters to do work of even greater sophistication and bring more of a human touch to their storytelling — while maintaining high standards of ethics, accuracy and transparency. 

Core values

1. Oversight: All AI-assisted content will be reviewed by our reporters and editors. Human judgment remains paramount.

2. Disclosure: We will clearly disclose the use of AI by noting it on specific stories, or describing its use in processes through written policies such as this one.

3. Accuracy: Any AI-generated or AI-assisted content must meet the same standards of accuracy as content created without it.

4. Ethics: We will use AI in accordance with our journalistic values and never to deceive or manipulate our audience.

5. Privacy: We will be mindful of the privacy of our sources, staff and readers when using AI technologies.

6. Continuous improvement: We will continually explore new AI technologies that can improve our journalism while upholding high ethical standards.

7. Human creativity: We believe there is no substitute for human creativity, and discourage use of AI in ways that short-circuit the creative process.

Accepted uses of AI:

1. Research and analysis: AI tools may assist in research and in data analysis.

2. Summarizing content: AI may be used to summarize content to aid in reporting, with human verification.

3. Translation: AI may be used to help with translating content, with human verification.

4. Transcription: AI may be used to convert audio from meetings and interviews to text, with human review for accuracy.

5. Headline and social media copy generation: AI may suggest headlines or social media content, including language for video scripts, all subject to human editorial approval.

6. Fact-checking: AI tools may be used to support fact-checking processes, such as by suggesting high-quality sources, but not as the sole verification method.

7. Video editing: AI may be used to assist in compiling videos, captioning and applying graphic templates, all subject to multiple levels of human review.

8. Editing: AI tools may be used to identify style, spelling and grammar errors and suggest paraphrases. 

Prohibited uses of AI

1. Direct content production: AI will not be used as the sole or predominant creator of news articles, opinion pieces or other editorial content. The use of AI in any content creation will be clearly labeled and the staff member(s) who reviewed the work will be named.

2. Manipulating images: AI will not be used to create, alter or manipulate videos or images in ways that could mislead the public.

3. Fabricating sources: AI will never be used to generate fake quotes or fictional sources.

4. Making decisions: AI will not be tasked with editorial decisions, such as whether to publish a submitted piece.

Transparency

1. We will clearly label any content or types of content that have been created with the help of AI. We will require anyone submitting freelance or other contributed written and visual content to state whether AI was used in its production.

2. We will publicly post our latest policies on AI in an accessible place on our website.

3. We will regularly update our readers on the evolution of our use of AI in the newsroom.

Training

1. All reporters and editors will receive ongoing counsel about the ethical use of AI in journalism.

2. We welcome open discussion about AI and its ethical use within our newsroom, and invite public feedback on the matter.

Newsroom oversight

1. As AI ethical issues arise, concerns should be brought to editors, who may decide to convene an ad hoc committee of newsroom members to address them.

2. This policy will be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in AI technology and the considerations around it.

Our commitment

We are committed to harnessing the power of AI to assist our journalism and elevate the work of our people — not replace it. We strive to be proactive in a rapidly changing environment and to use technology in thoughtful, ethical ways to responsibly serve our community.