Independent launches AI-created news briefings for ‘busy' readers
The platform, called Bulletin, publishes bullet point briefings designed for 'seriously busy' audiences.
It will utilise Google Gemini, the search engine's AI chatbot, to produce content which will be reviewed and checked by journalists before being published.
The Independent said it was creating a series of new editorial jobs to oversee the service, which will be launched as a separate platform from March 31.
Editor-in-chief Geordie Greig said the newspaper was 'helping to pioneer what is a fact of life in 21st century information, the use of AI in journalism'.
Bulletin will allow it to 'cut to the chase' with news briefings that 'supplement' full-length content.
Readers will have the option to click through to in-depth news, podcasts, newsletters and documentaries, according to the publisher.
Christian Broughton, the Independent's chief executive, said its journalists 'wanted to ensure they are always in control of the process' while still meeting its audience's 'desire for trusted, essential briefings'.
'That need has become more acute, whether from long working hours, busy family life, or all kinds of other reasons,' he said.
But he stressed that its 'human team' will still be best placed to produce in-depth news and features.
Other major news outlets have started using AI to produce content in recent years.
Newsquest, which is behind dozens of regional newspapers including The Herald in Scotland, now employs AI-assisted reporters who use the technology to help write news articles.
Last year, the Financial Times launched its first generative AI tool for subscribers, allowing users to ask questions and receive a response using content published by the newspaper over the past two decades.
Meanwhile, AI has not always come without its issues. In January, Apple announced it had paused the use of its Apple Intelligence AI tools to create news summaries after a number of incidents where it created inaccurate headlines.
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Fast Company
6 hours ago
- Fast Company
Using ChatGPT or other AI tools? Here's who can see your chat history
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 9:10 While AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini can be helpful, they're also potential privacy minefields. Most AI assistants save a complete record of your conversations, making them easily visible to anyone with access to your devices. Those conversations are also stored online, often indefinitely, so they could be exposed due to bugs or security breaches. In some cases, AI providers can even send your chats along to human reviewers. All of this should give you pause, especially if you plan to share your innermost thoughts with AI tools or use them to process personal information. To better protect your privacy, consider making some tweaks to your settings, using private conversation modes, or even turning to AI assistants that protect your privacy by default. To help make sense of the options, I looked through all the privacy settings and policies of every major AI assistant. Here's what you need to know about what they do with your data, and what you can do about it: ChatGPT By default: ChatGPT uses your data to train AI, and warns that its 'training data may incidentally include personal information.' Can humans review your chats? OpenAI's ChatGPT FAQ says it may 'review conversations' to improve its systems. Can you disable AI training? Yes. Go to Settings > Data controls > Improve the model for everyone. Is there a private chat mode? Yes. Click 'Turn on temporary chat' in the top-right corner to keep a chat out of your history and avoid having it used to train AI. Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. (OpenAI launched, then removed, a feature that let search engines index shared chats.) Are your chats used for targeted ads? OpenAI's privacy policy says it does not sell or share personal data for contextual behavioral advertising, doesn't process data for targeted ads, and doesn't process sensitive personal data to infer characteristics about consumers. How long does it keep your data? Up to 30 days for temporary and deleted chats, though even some of those may be kept longer for 'security and legal obligations.' All other data is stored indefinitely. Google Gemini By default: Gemini uses your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? Yes. Google says not to enter 'any data you wouldn't want a reviewer to see.' Once a reviewer sees your data, Google keeps it for up to three years—even if you delete your chat history. Can you disable AI training? Yes. Go to click the 'Turn off' drop-down menu, then select either 'Turn off' or 'Turn off and delete activity.' Is there a private chat mode? No, but turning Gemini Apps Activity off will hide your chat history from the sidebar. (Note, however, that re-enabling it without deleting past data will bring your history back.) Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Google says it doesn't use Gemini chats to show you ads, but the company's privacy policy allows for it. Google says it will communicate any changes it makes to this policy. How long does it keep your data? Indefinitely, unless you turn on auto-deletion in Gemini Apps Activity. Anthropic Claude By default: Anthropic doesn't use conversations to train AI unless you report them manually or opt in to testing new features. Can humans review your chats? No, though Anthropic reviews conversations flagged as violating its usage policies. Can you disable AI training? Not applicable. Is there a private chat mode? No. You must delete past conversations manually to hide them from your history. Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Anthropic doesn't use conversations for targeted ads. How long does it keep your data? Up to two years, or seven years for prompts flagged for trust and safety violations. Microsoft Copilot By default: Microsoft uses your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? Yes. Microsoft's privacy policy says it uses 'both automated and manual (human) methods of processing' personal data. Can you disable AI training? Yes, though the option is buried. Click your profile image > your name > Privacy and disable 'Model training on text.' Is there a private chat mode? No. You must delete chats one by one or clear your history from Microsoft's account page. Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. Note that shared links can't be unshared without deleting the chat. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Microsoft uses your data for targeted ads and has discussed integrating ads with AI. You can disable this by clicking your profile image > your name > Privacy and disabling 'Personalization and memory.' A separate link disables all personalized ads for your Microsoft account. How long does it keep your data? Data is stored for 18 months, unless you delete it manually. xAI Grok By default: Uses your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? Yes. Grok's FAQ says a 'limited number' of 'authorized personnel' may review conversations for quality or safety. Can you disable AI training? Yes. Click your profile image and go to Settings > Data Controls, then disable 'Improve the Model.' Is there a private chat mode? Click the 'Private' button at the top right to keep a chat out of your history and avoid having it used to train AI. Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. Note that shared links can't be unshared without deleting the chat. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Grok's privacy policy says it does not sell or share information for targeted ad purposes. How long does it keep your data? Private Chats and even deleted conversations are stored for 30 days. All other data is stored indefinitely. Meta AI By default: Uses your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? Yes. Meta's privacy policy says it uses manual review to 'understand and enable creation' of AI content. Can you disable AI training? Not directly. U.S. users can fill out this form. Users in the EU and U.K. can exercise their right to object. Is there a private chat mode? No. Can you share chats with others? Yes. Shared links automatically appear in a public feed and can show up in other Meta apps as well. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Meta's privacy policy says it targets ads based on the information it collects, including interactions with AI. How long does it keep your data? Indefinitely. Perplexity By default: Uses your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? Perplexity's privacy policy does not mention human review. Can you disable AI training? Yes. Go to Account > Preferences and disable 'AI data retention.' Is there a private chat mode? Yes. Click your profile icon, then select 'Incognito' under your account name. Can you share chats with others? Yes, by generating a shareable link. Are your chats used for targeted ads? Yes. Perplexity says it may share your information with third-party advertising partners and may collect from other sources (for instance, data brokers) to improve its ad targeting. How long does it keep your data? Until you delete your account. By default: doesn't use your data to train AI, thanks to deals with major providers. Can humans review your chats? No. Can you disable AI training? Not applicable. Is there a private chat mode? No. You must delete previous chats individually or all at once through the sidebar. Can you share chats with others? No. Are your chats used for targeted ads? No. How long does it keep your data? Model providers keep anonymized data for up to 30 days, unless needed for legal or safety reasons. Proton Lumo By default: Proton Lumo doesn't use your data to train AI. Can humans review your chats? No. Can you disable AI training? Not applicable. Is there a private chat mode? Yes. Click the glasses icon at the top right. Can you share chats with others? No. Are your chats used for targeted ads? No. How long does it keep your data? Proton does not store logs of your chats. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. Sign up for our weekly tech digest. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Privacy Policy ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jared has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to Fast Company, PCWorld, and TechHive. His Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week More
The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
How foreign policy could crash Republican midterm prospects
This summer's MAGA revolt over the Epstein Files has challenged the longstanding assumption that President Trump has an unbreakable bond with the Republican base. Trump loyalists from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to Steve Bannon to Tucker Carlson have recently criticized the president not just on the Epstein disclosures but also on Medicaid cuts in the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' Yet new polling shows that another issue could cost Trump crucial support and substantially lower his standing among independent voters whom Republicans need in order to win future elections. While Republicans largely rallied around Trump following the June 22 bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, recent YouGov polling commissioned by the Center for Economic and Policy Research demonstrates substantial political risks for the president and his party if he supports an expanded war involving Israel and Iran. When respondents consider the economic consequences of a broader conflict, as well as their trust in the justifications offered for involvement in such a war, Trump faces overwhelming dissent among Independents. These voters are about one-third of the electorate and currently about evenly split between Democrat-leaning and Republican-leaning. If an issue becomes important in an election and the Independent voters move strongly in one direction, that can swing the election. A clear majority of voters — 65 percent — reported they would hold Trump responsible if gasoline prices rose to $6 a gallon as a result of expanded U.S. military involvement. Among Independent voters, this sentiment rises to 69 percent. 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If Trump once again follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into major military action in the Middle East, the consequences may extend beyond geopolitics and significantly impact the president's party in next year's midterm elections. Consider some midterm math. On all five questions related to U.S. intervention in Iran, voters who identify as Republican or Democrat overwhelmingly aligned with their respective parties. For example, by a ratio of 88 percent to 12 percent, Democrats said they did not believe that 'Trump is getting involved in this war for the sake of U.S. national security.' Republicans held the opposite view, with 77 percent believing national security was the reason and 23 percent not believing it. This leaves Independent voters as potentially decisive. According to current polling data, Independents are evenly divided between 'Republican-leaning' and 'Democrat-leaning,' generally indicating close national elections. However, on questions regarding U.S. participation in a war against Iran, Independents are solidly opposed, by a margin of two to one. This leads to an overall result of 63-37 saying that they do not believe that U.S. involvement in such a war is 'for the sake of national security.' While the June war between Israel and Iran appears to be over, another Israeli attack in the near future remains quite possible. Should Trump decide to join such an operation before the next election, it could significantly undermine Republican chances of retaining Congress. Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He is the author of 'Failed: What the 'Experts' Got Wrong About the Global Economy (Oxford University Press). Justin Talbot Zorn is a senior adviser at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Truman National Security Fellow, and served as legislative director for three members of Congress.
Politico
3 days ago
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'Shoot the messenger': Democrats condemn Trump's call to fire BLS chief
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