Zurich-headquartered international media and tech company Ringier is determined to “ride the wave” created by generative AI, identifying its big positive potential for its journalism and business.

But global media head Ladina Heimgartner says the group is also very conscious of the responsibility that comes along with this new technology, “especially when it comes to transparency, journalistic quality, and the trust our readers and users put in us”.

With more than 100 companies in media, sports media, and digital marketplaces in 19 countries, Ringier wants to make sure that core values – including independence, freedom of expression and a pioneering spirit – are met when exploring the unknown territory.

Work on an AI guidelines started earlier this year, in a collaboration between business, legal and data protection, and were introduced in May.

“We want to act responsibly by transparently disclosing the use of AI,” say Global media unit CPO Bernd Volf and COO Patrick Rademacher, who heads special projects for the group chief executive, in an INMA blog post.

The Ringier guidelines include:

-responsibility for all content produced with or without generative AI, so everything has to be verified, checked and supplemented “using the company’s own judgement and expertise based on our journalistic standards”;

-labelling: As a general rule, content generated by AI tools shall be labelled, however, labelling is not required in cases where an AI tool is used only as an aid;

-confidentiality: Employees are not permitted to enter confidential information into an AI tool;

-codes: Development codes will only be entered into an AI tool if the code neither constitutes a trade secret nor belongs to third parties and if no copyrights are violated, including open source guidelines;

-bias: AI tools and technologies developed, integrated or used by Ringier shall always be fair, impartial and non-discriminatory.

“It is already clear this is just the first version of the guidelines,” Volf and Rademacher say. “With the rapid development of generative AI technology, the guidelines will also evolve over time. This is why they will be continuously reviewed in the coming months and adjusted if necessary.

“We are convinced that through the responsible interaction between humans and machines, based on clear AI guidelines, our products, processes, and content can be further improved.”