Help from the state: Competence center for AI in the media

What used to be done by editors-in-chief with coffee stains on their shirts and a pen behind their ears is now done by an algorithm with a cloud connection: Artificial Intelligence is turning the media industry upside down – and suddenly everyone wants to be part of it.

At the new competence center for AI in the media, it's not just hip start-ups and agencies with anglicisms in their names that are lining up – government agencies and traditional companies are also suddenly queuing up, as if they had just discovered the smartphone and apps for themselves.

Central contact points

To finally make the transition from buzzword to business model official, the media industry is now getting central contact points for all questions about AI. Yes, really.

"We want to be pioneers," says a regional headquarters that was otherwise known for its fax machines and waiting times. The highlight: It's not tech giants or creative nerds who are at the helm, but rather government agencies and companies with a penchant for committee meetings and flip charts.

Even civil servants who previously hid protectively under their desks at the mention of the word "update" are now talking about neural networks as if they were at an IT festival. "Media companies, especially small providers, come to us and askhow they can benefit from AI,” says a source close to the project.

Real satire

Sounds a bit like satire or a story from the Paulaner garden—but hey, you don't want to disabuse anyone of their beliefs. And of course, you offer "AI on site" opportunities, and—the best part—interested parties can test AI under supervision.

What is particularly charming is that anyone who has ever ChatGPT, Midjourney or Google Gemini Anyone who has worked with AI knows that AI is always there where the Wi-Fi is stable. And the whole thing can be tested anytime, anywhere.

But there's one major goal: to provide media professionals with expert guidance. It's like the adult education center's "Prompt Writing for Advanced Learners" course, only with more funding for the operators on the cover.

At least competence

But before we complain too quickly: at least something is happening. And if the competence center ensures that every other article doesn't sound like it was written by a bored AI on a Friday night, then a lot will have been achieved.

Let’s hope that the next groundbreaking innovation from Germany will not again consist of a 73-page PDF entitled “Action Guide for the Structured Introduction of AI into Core Publishing Processes.”

And taxes are due in advance. Whether the competence center will ultimately revolutionized journalism or just a very clever text block generator remains to be seen.

AI application

One thing is certain: Artificial intelligence apparently has a new favorite place. And it's no longer Silicon Valley, but the "Interministerial Working Group on Media Innovation" in German state headquarters.

We're curious to see when the first AI-generated grant application for such projects goes viral...

Sierks Media / © Photo: Yuan Rong Gong, Unsplash