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In this issue: Denmark’s collective gambit against OpenAI. The AI detection company that wants to measure shades of grey. A Harvard designer’s six rules for being creative with machines. Plus Agnes Stenbom Swedling on human-centric vs. machine-centric newsrooms.
What we’re talking about: Godmorgen from Copenhagen, where our industry has gathered for the Nordic AI in Media Summit. It’s agents, workflows, strategies. Olga Robinson from the BBC and I will be talking about verification.
Lots of case studies as well, and Denmark itself is one: Almost the entire Danish news industry, crucially including public broadcasting, is organized in the Danish Press Publications’ Collective Management Organisation (DPCMO).
So far, tech companies have not been eager to sign commercial deals. No individual Danish outlet has cut a side deal with OpenAI, unlike many European counterparts. The collective is suing OpenAI after the company acknowledged training on publishers’ content but refused to pay for it.
More on this joint effort, and other ways the news industry negotiates with tech companies, in this recent overview from Marina Adami at the Reuters Institute.
What else I’ve been reading:
And now: She co-founded the industry network Nordic AI Journalism in 2020 and now hosts the world’s most relevant conference on journalism and AI. Agnes Stenbom Swedling is deeply embedded in the most consequential transformation of media in ages.
Four Questions with Agnes Stenbom Swedling
Agnes Stenbom Swedling founded IN/LAB, is a board member of the Tinius Trust, the owner of Schibsted, and co-founded Nordic AI Journalism.
What's the most important question right now?
Any newsroom looking to develop and/or use AI should ask themselves whether their strategy puts them on a trajectory for human-centric or machine-centric hybridisation. Are you leveraging human capabilities in a meaningful way?
What's the most exciting use of AI in journalism?
The most exciting cases are helping journalism become more useful, not just more efficient; moving from publishing content to creating systems that help people understand the world, navigate uncertainty, and ask better questions.
“Write me 500 SEO-optimised articles”-style use cases do little for me (and to be honest, for the public that journalism is set to serve). We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to evolve journalism, and too much of the industry is using it to automate yesterday’s internet.
What will we be shaking our heads about a year from now?
The realisation that many organisations confused “having AI tools” with “having an AI strategy.”
What future are you looking forward to?
A future where technology enables more depth rather than more noise. Less infinite content, more meaningful guidance, context, and understanding.
Hands on: How does a machine see content? There’s a debate whether there is a need for a new form of SEO, to optimize for agentic retrieval. Or if classic tactics still work, because at the end of the day, AI search is just search.
This is where ContentGrapher comes in. The tool from Daniel Cheung maps the concept structure of your content, flags what’s underexplained or missing, and tells you what to add so AI tools actually cite you. Built for the RAG era, not for keyword matching.
You get five free analyses to start, no subscription. Whether it works as advertised is another question, but at least you get a structured analysis that’s more competent than a short prompt.
One more thing: All mentions of “AI” at Google’s developer conference in one video. “Did you know that if you don’t mention AI every 3.7 seconds at Google I/O, security rushes in and escorts you off the stage?”
This is THEFUTURE.
