JournalismAI Discovery

Learn about the key principles of artificial intelligence in journalism in this FREE online course.

The course is designed for journalists, editors, product managers, and newsroom people – but everyone in and around journalism is welcome to take the course.

There will be no complicated maths or programming involved. JournalismAI Discovery is the perfect first step if you are a complete beginner, and a helpful refresher course if you’re familiar with the principles.

Delivered weekly to your inbox, the course consists of 6 modules and combines resources for individual study, with a collaborative learning environment. Make sure to read the FAQs to find out more.

Sign-up to our newsletter and be the first to know when we launch a new edition of the course.

JournalismAI Discovery was originally developed by investigative journalist and AI expert Brandon Roberts. Brandon has been researching and applying AI techniques to investigative journalism since 2013. His work has led him to collaborate on investigative projects with newsrooms internationally, and present machine learning tools and research at conferences.

Why JournalismAI Discovery?

We are passionate about making the potential of AI more accessible, countering the inequalities in the global news media around the subject.

We wanted to create a free course to help empower individuals and groups to educate themselves on the opportunities AI presents.

Learn how to…

  • Describe what AI technologies are, what they can and can't do, and the impact they could have on journalism.

  • Understand the opportunities that AI can offer your newsroom, and the risks that come with its adoption.

  • Start your AI-journalism project and prepare for any challenges that may arise, so that you can succeed.

Learn for free

Discover what AI
can do for you

Gain new
perspectives

Receive a final certificate

Course schedule for 2024

  • AI is already here, being used all over the journalism industry for news gathering, production and distribution.We'll walk through the various ways that newsrooms use AI for specific tasks like improving reader retention, supporting investigative work and identifying breaking, to name a few.

  • Some people joke that AI is "cool things that computers can’t do." We at JournalismAI define AI to mean: a collection of ideas, technologies, and techniques that relate to a computer system’s capacity to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. In the first module, we'll talk about what AI is—and isn't—and what it means to be a journalist in the age of AI.

  • As journalists, we can think about data as the mechanism by which accountability is attained. Technologically, data plays a major role in which algorithms can be used and even whether or not your problem can be solved with AI. In our course, we'll explore the importance of data and its influence on the possibilities, limits and outcomes of AI-journalism projects.

  • AI projects can be complicated and preparation pays off big. In this module, we’re going to put the pieces we’ve covered thus far together and talk about how to get started with an AI-journalism project. Like many things in journalism, AI tends to be a team sport. We’ll also talk about building upon others' work and finding suitable partners for collaboration.

  • Even the best planned projects run into difficulties. In this module, we’re going to go over some of the common failure paths and how to best avoid them. We’ll also discuss best practices and share some of the ingredients that have made previous successful journalism AI projects. We’ll draw on the wealth of experience gained from our Fellowship Programme as well as from newsrooms, large and small.

  • The world of AI moves fast. Even veteran practitioners can find it difficult to stay current. In this final module, we’re going to take the time to review recent changes in AI technology and cover what trends may be relevant to journalism. We’ll also discuss resources you can use to leap forward from the stepping stone that is this course.

Testimonials

Undral Amarsaikhan, CEO, TenGer TV, Mongolia

❝ This is one of the most efficient and effective courses I have ever taken part in. Getting complicated yet comprehensive sets of knowledge on your inbox is a really comfortable way to digest new frontiers like AI. ❞

Corina Lingscheidt, Manager, MM New Media GmbH, Germany

❝ …The weekly emails are stuffed with easy to understand facts and examples about the use of AI and algorithms in newsrooms… Learning is real fun in such formats. ❞

FAQ

  • This course consists of 6 written modules, and it has been designed to be easy to digest and flexible to complete. Starting on 2 July 2024, each week you will receive a new module directly to your inbox. The course has been designed to support independent learning, so you can read through each module at your own pace. At the end of each module, you will be given a quiz to complete which will cover the key concepts you would have learnt. There is no pass or fail of JournalismAI Discovery, but the quizzes are a great self assessment tool.

  • We are passionate about making the potential of AI more accessible, countering the inequalities in the global news media around the subject. In order to make JournalismAI Discovery truly accessible, there is no charge for enrolment. Complete all 6 modules and you will receive a certificate of completion for free.

    Certificates will only be distributed on the last Friday of each month until December 2024.

  • Registration for the June 2024 intake is now closed.

    REMEMBER: Sign up with your personal email address to avoid missing any modules. Note that Modules will only be distributed once. The JournalismAI Discovery team will not be able to resend Modules where organisations have placed blockers from certain organisations.

    The deadline to sign-up for the JournalismAI Discovery was Sunday, 23 June 2024, at 11:59 PM GMT.

  • JournalismAI Discovery contains 6 modules, which will drop into your inbox every week. Approximate completion time for each module ranges from 10 to 20 minutes – more if you want to meet other course-takers and reflect on your learnings with them in our global classroom on Slack. Check the FAQs 05 and 06 for more information on community learning and how we will use Slack.

  • Although you will have access to a new module each week, you are able to complete them in your own time, so you can easily work it around your other commitments. We understand that life gets busy, so once you receive the modules, they are yours to keep, which means you can take a break if needed and revisit when you are able to.

  • Join our global classroom on Slack! Whilst the course has been created to support independent learning, we believe that being able to talk to like-minded people about what you are learning is a great way to encourage insightful discussions and networking. For this reason, JournalismAI Discovery has been designed as a shared learning experience. One week before the start of the course, you will be invited to join other course-takers from across the world on Slack.

  • Slack is our global classroom! It is an easy to use instant messaging platform, which was developed for professional and organisational communications, but is now heavily used as a community platform. We will use Slack to share the quizzes to complete after each module, and it will also be a great place to ask any questions, as well as for networking. Although not compulsory, we highly recommend getting involved on Slack to make the most of the JournalismAI Discovery course. It’s easy to access from your web browser, and it also has a mobile and desktop app to make it even easier!

  • Currently, JournalismAI Discovery is available in English only. English proficiency is necessary to take the course. We are working hard towards making future courses available in additional languages.

  • All you need to complete the JournalismAI Discovery course is your personal email address, and access to a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. In order to access each module via email you will need to be connected to the internet or Wi-Fi. Once you’ve accessed the email once, you can read through the rest of the module offline! To take part in the community learning on Slack you will need to have an internet connection.

  • The JournalismAI Discovery course is a thorough introduction to the use of AI in Journalism. Upon completion, you will receive a certificate, and you are welcome to highlight your participation on your CV — and even share it on LinkedIn. Show off your hard work!

    Please Note: Certificates will only be distributed on the last Friday of each month until December 2024.

  • Glad you asked! JournalismAI is a collaboration between Polis – the journalism think-tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science – and the Google News Initiative. Our mission is to empower news organisations to use artificial intelligence responsibly.

    The design of the JournalismAI activities is based on the findings of the global survey we conducted in 2019, which led to the publication of the report: New powers, New responsibilities: A global survey of journalism and artificial intelligence, which was subsequently updated in 2023 with Generating Change: A global survey of what news organisations are doing with artificial intelligence.

    To find out more, sign up for our newsletter and follow our updates on Twitter at @PolisLSE.

  • Drop us an email at discovery@journalismai.info.