Exploration #129

Hi all. Hope you had a restful, safe Thanksgiving weekend, and welcome Public Media Innovators Weekly. This week we reflect as ChatGPT turns 2, we feature a cool new interactive project from PBS Wisconsin, we’ve got a look at why women are less likely to use AI, and, finally, we check out the fizz-up that is Coca Cola’s new AI-generated holiday ad.

But First…

It was good seeing so many of you attending NETA’s Steal this (AI)dea webinar the week before the holiday. If you missed it, want to see it again, or want to share it with colleagues, you can check it (and any of our past webinars) out on our Events Page. And our next webinar is next week. Join us for a full session with Talia Rosen, entitled Unleashing Creativity and Applying Standards to Generative AI.

Lean into that Learning Curve 

While you were busy being a back home baller this past holiday weekend, ChatGPT turned two years old. Compared to the speed at which Web 2.0 developed, that’s like age 10. And in web 1.0 years, that more like age 25. Old enough to make you proud, but still not too old to make some mistakes now and then.

It’s worth reflecting on both what has changed as a result of generative AI, but also what has not. Generative AI did not deliver the prefab, ready-to-wear media future that was obliquely promised two years ago. Truly impactful change, it turns out, is more subtle. So, while we were promised a volcano, what we’re really getting is plate tectonics.

And that’s fine. It gives us time to feel our way through the grey areas for the ethical use of this technology. It also gives us time to see how quickly audiences are getting comfortable with the use of AI in media.

Still, in broad ways, generative AI has moved through types of media surprising speed. Two years ago, generative video seemed at least five years off. Today, it’s more or less here. And if 2024 was the year of generative sounds, 2025 is shaping up to be the year generative video comes into its own.

The key is to experiment. And that starts with personal experimentation. With the down time of the holidays nearly upon us, take some time to play with these tools. The sense I’m getting from our community is that while folks are still curious about this tech, people are starting to back away from these tools because there is a learning curve to make them truly productive. Lean into than curve. As you play, you’ll start to see how these tools could solve small problems here and there. You’ll see how they could potentially make your work easier. And once you start seeing the solutions to problems, true adoption starts to take hold.

Okay, on to the links.

Focus…

Illuminating Cana Island (PBS Wisconsin) - Amber didn't ask me to do this. But PBS Wisconsin's work is good, and if I worked there, I'd definitely be announcing this one with pride. The team there recently released their latest cross-departmental, multimedia collaboration. I love the UI here. This is a great example of what can happen when your teams merge emerging and traditional media around a tentpole project for the station. Check it (and the companion doc) out!

Learn…

Unleashing Creativity and Applying Standards to Generative AI (Talia Rosen - PBS Standards & Practices) - Join us, Thursday, December 12, 1:30 p.m. ET for a lively presentation and discussion surrounding the application of standards while using generative AI. We will explore specific use cases and share best practices. Bring your station’s insights, dilemmas, experiences, and questions to make the most of our 90-minutes together. This is our first co-presentation with Executive Content Managers group. All are welcome, and you can register for the webinar here.
—And check out last month’s Steal this (AI)dea webinar on our Events page.

Earn…

Open Call on Infrastructure (Press Forward) - This one has a tight turnaround (deadline is noon ET, 1/15) but if you have an idea already baking in your shop then give this one a look.
—Going forward, when we find them, we'll be publishing grant opportunities here in the newsletter. If you see one that we should share with the community, send it my way!

Think…

“Not just broadcast:” WBUR CEO Margaret Low on the future of the business of news - (Heidi Ho - Storybench) - I would hold up this quote from Low to anyone in your organization who says public media companies are still just broadcast stations: "I never use the word “station.” I say WBUR, because “station” is minimizing of what we are. In the old days, we were a radio signal and we were 90.9 [FM] – that was it. Now part of the challenge of many news organizations is having to express your journal within so many places. It’s so much more. I would point to our newsletter team. They write a number of newsletters, they’re doing TikTok videos that are hilarious, smart and funny. We just launched a big branding campaign and trying to speak with a voice that is irresistible to people. We do use the radio to tell people where we are, but we also use our newsletters to tell where else we are. So we’re in a constant state of pointing in multiple directions so that people know that we’re not just broadcast." Her answer to “What does it take to be a good journalist?” is all worth a read.

Want to know why YouTube hid dislikes? Ask a female creator. (Sam Gutelle - tubefilter) - As we consider how public media could better embrace creator culture, we should also consider the issues creators are facing on these increasingly power digital platforms. Clearly there is ample room for public media to be a positive force in these spaces.

Seven big advantages human workers have over AI (Timothy B. Lee - Understanding AI) - While I feel like it's a bit early to have existential angst over AI taking jobs, I can't deny that such existential angst exists. If you are feeling it, this essay will help.

Why Are Women Less Likely to Use AI? (Josie Cox - Bloomberg) - This article makes an excellent point, when technological paradigms shift, we can't assume all adoption is equal. And when that adoption isn't equal the early adopters reap many advantages relative to compensation and career momentum. Here's a key quote: "This is fresh evidence of a well-established technology gender divide: In its early days, the internet was dominated by men. More recently, research shows that women are significantly less likely than their male counterparts to use financial technology — or fintech — products. But the generative AI gap is noteworthy because of the extent to which this particular technology is already radically and rapidly transforming the labor market."
—Related, from Marie Gilot, in NiemanLab’s 2025 Predictions for Journalism: Play with AI like your career depends on it (it does)

Know…

Mixed Signals: FM radio kept the NPR system resilient well into the digital age. Now the lifeline is fraying. (Gabe Bullard - Nieman Reports) - Reading through this I was struck again by the fact that both radio and TV are in an asymmetrical competition for survival with media creators that can survive on fewer donations or on outright commercial sponsorship. Additionally, I was struck with the notion that there may not be one systems-wide recipe for survival, but that the survival of public media might require at least region by region (if not market by market) strategies. And then this line resonated with me as well: "Every station has to figure out how to maintain its current audience and build a new one on-air, in person, and online. But the other lesson Hiott learned from her career in print is that there’s no time to mourn the legacy medium."

Veteran news editor expects Trump 'to go after the press in every conceivable way' (Terry Gross, Marty Baron & David Remnick - Fresh Air) - The headline is a bit click-bait-y, but there are some good nuggets for reflection here. Especially worth reading is the section in which Marty Baron opines "On what traditional media can learn from social media influencers." Baron: "We have to be better communicators. We have to recognize that the way that people are receiving information today is radically different from the way that we received information when we were growing up and the way we maybe prefer to receive information today. So we have a lot to learn from influencers, actually, in terms of how to do that. Our authority is not just being questioned today, but our authenticity is being questioned today. And these influencers are coming across as much more authentic and therefore people think they're more authoritative."

Trump’s new FCC nominee promises to bring Project 2025-style governance to media (Joshua Benton - Nieman Lab) - ICYMI, the next four years are increasingly coming into focus.
—Read the Project 2025 chapter on the FCC here.
—Ted Hearn's Policyband post is also of interest: Incoming FCC Chairman Carr: ‘Broadcast License is Not a Sacred Cow'
—And also by Benton: What would Project 2025 do for (or to) journalism?

OpenAI Shuts Down Sora Access After Artists Released Video-Generation Tool in Protest: ‘We Are Not Your PR Puppets’ (Todd Spangler - Variety) - I had speculated that OpenAI was holding off on Sora's release until after the US election, but I'm guessing this means we actually won't see SORA released before the end of the year. What's interesting is that other generative video tools, like Runway, are beginning to capture the buzz in the space from Sora.

Zoom 2.0 relaunches as an AI-first company without video in its name (Umar Shakir - The Verge) - Can AI take Zoom from its humble video conferencing beginnings into the world of AI-augmented productivity apps?

Yes, That Viral LinkedIn Post You Read Was Probably AI-Gen (Kate Knibbs - Wired) - Well, this must be why the stats for this newsletter on LinkedIn dropped 90% a couple months back (and haven't recovered).

OpenAI releases a teacher’s guide to ChatGPT, but some educators are skeptical (Kyle Wiggers - TechCrunch) - It's been a while since I've reminded you to beware geeks bearing gifts. The education space is one that, sooner or later, most tech companies want to lock down. Some start sooner than others, and arguably OpenAI is a little late to this party. But it is worth noting that they developed this in collaboration with Common Sense Media.
—You can also access the free online course directly on the Common Sense website.
—OpenAI also released A Student’s Guide to Writing with ChatGPT 
—Predictably, that also garnered a bit of criticism, such as this piece from Dave Nelson via Mark Watkins Substack: A Response to OpenAI's Student Guide to Writing with ChatGPT 

How Indigenous engineers are using AI to preserve their culture (Iris Kim - NBC News) - Reading this piece my first through was, how could public media support creators make use of these tools to tell native stories or create digitally authentic native experiences.

And finally…

How Coca-Cola's AI Holiday Ad Went From Praise To Rage (Brittaney Kiefer - AdWeek) - There’s been a lot of Sturm und Drang over Coca Cola’s decision to reboot it’s classic 1995 holiday ad, taking the concept and rendering it via AI, and this is one of the few articles that didn’t solely focus audience criticism of the move. The ad isn’t perfect. Santa is an allusion, not a fully rendered human figure (because gAI still can’t successfully cross the uncanny valley). We can debate whether this should have been released as an actual ad (versus a highly publicized bit of R&D), but I actually think this is a cool experiment that shows the state of the art here at the end of 2024. And remember, we’re only just two years out from the wide release of ChatGPT, and not yet 30 months out from the release of the first generative image tools.
—See the 2024 Coca Cola AI ad for yourself.
—And then watch the original 1995 "Holiday's Are Coming" ad.

Have a creative, productive week!