Bagus Pribadi, Jakarta – Tempo Media Group has published guidelines outlining terms and conditions for the use of its journalistic content by generative artificial intelligence (AI) companies, which can be accessed at tempo.co.
The guidelines prohibit AI companies from using Tempo Media's content, encompassing articles, images, videos, data, and any other form of journalistic work, without prior written permission. The prohibition also covers the use of content for AI model training, data analysis, or reproduction in any form.
AI companies seeking to use Tempo Media content are required to submit a request for written permission, providing details of the proposed use, purpose, duration, and other relevant information.
If written permission is granted, the use of the content must comply with the terms of the license. The terms encompass but are not constrained to the duration of the license, the scope of the use, and the compensation to be paid to Tempo Media.
"Any misuse or violation of these terms and conditions will result in legal action taken by Tempo Media, such as demands for compensation and termination of access," President Director of PT Info Media Digital (IMD) Wahyu Dhyatmika said on Thursday, June 20.
IMD is a subsidiary of PT Tempo Inti Media Harian, which is majority-owned by PT Tempo Inti Media Tbk (TMPO). IMD manages all of Tempo Media's digital products.
According to Wahyu, the development of generative AI technology could confer both benefits and challenges to journalism and news media companies. Therefore, Tempo ensures that the use of this technology in the production and distribution of journalistic content aligns with ethical guidelines and public interest.
"The guidelines aim to anticipate the latest developments in the US and Europe, where AI companies, particularly Open AI, are aggressively acquiring publisher content licenses," he said. The guidelines are necessary so that AI crawlers are aware of changes or emphasis on copyright and legal aspects of Tempo Media content.
Wahyu noted that several media companies in other countries have already forged partnerships with AI companies, such as Axel Springer, owner of the media brands Politico, Business Insider, Bild, and Welt, which allied with Open AI as the developer of ChatGPT in December 2023. This collaboration allows users to receive obtain summaries from Axel Springer's media brands, including paid content. ChatGPT also provides attribution and links to the full news stories in response to users' inquiries.
Additionally, The Financial Times announced a strategic partnership and licensing agreement with OpenAI on April 29, 2024, enabling ChatGPT users to access selected news summaries along with attribution, quotes, and links to its journalistic products.
Arif Zulkifli, President Director of PT Tempo Inti Media Tbk, stated that Tempo acknowledges the exceedingly rapid development of AI technology that can yield both benefits and challenges for digital media companies. From the beginning, Tempo has welcomed AI technology to aid in internal tasks, while still keeping human resources at the forefront as final editors and decision makers.
"Tempo perceives AI as a tool to aid in generating innovative ideas that are then scrutinized through human cognitive processes," he remarked.
In adopting and adapting AI technology, he claimed that Tempo prioritizes key principles, namely maintaining credibility, quality, and services for customers. Nevertheless, there is still ambiguity regarding which digital works generated by AI are already circulating in the digital realm.
"This is worrying, particularly when the digital content or work is widely consumed and influences public sentiment. Therefore, raising public digital literacy is crucial to help Internet users independently filter facts and information," Arif said.
Moreover, it has been discovered that dozens of news websites are suspected to be fabricated by AI. Citing the Rise of The Newsbot report in April 2023, it is surmised that all these sites lack credible authors, as their names are "admin" or "editor" or have fake author profiles. Upon review, the content provides inaccurate and irrelevant information alongside numerous advertisements. It could be deduced that the primary goal of such sites is solely to generate revenue.
Tempo, as a digital media company, must optimize the infrastructure and production skills to harness the potential of AI technology, Arif emphasized.
"The use of AI technology must support Tempo's reputation as a credible, precise, and trustworthy media. The use of AI technology must also reinforce Tempo's efforts in fulfilling the press mission of providing quality and reliable information as stated in the Press Law No. 40 of 1999," Arif concluded.