Former Quartz leader is building the New York Times' AI team

So, the New York Times is diving into AI, but not with a lawsuit this time. It is assembling a fresh crew to explore how generative AI can jazz up their newsroom. They're on the lookout for some tech-savvy engineers and sharp editors to join the party.

What's going on here?

The New York Times is setting up a team to get AI into its journalism.

What does this mean?

Zach Seward (founding editor of Quartz—went on to lead the publication) is leading the charge of NYT’s AI plans. And he is now announcing his plans on Threads. Where? Yup, that mix-breed of Twitter and Instagram.

Anyway, he wants to recruit a mix of machine learning wizards, software engineers, designers, and editorial minds. Zach’s also gonna build out guidelines on where the NYT will use generative AI (and where it won’t). But the Times claims that reporting will always by humans.

Why should I care?

The Times has had its ups and downs with AI, blocking crawlers and even throwing down the legal punches against AI bigwigs like OpenAI and Microsoft. It's a bit hush-hush whether they'll buddy up with an AI firm or go DIY with their tools.

One thing is clear, even the Times can’t take an “anti-AI” standpoint to the whole. They can shout “OpenAI bad” all they want, but not “AI bad”.