The bots are coming and you have two options: Adapt or die.

The future of news is humans talking to machines

Last month, the BBC’s Trushar Barot wrote a lengthy and substantive article for Nieman Lab, in which he argues that voice-activated artificial intelligence represents one of the biggest technological revolutions in the news industry since the first iPhone — possibly bigger. Despite the numerous implications of this emerging technology, Barot writes, publishers have largely ignored this “huge burning platform the news industry doesn’t even know it’s standing on.”

Click here to read the full story.

Does the idea of talking to a news bot bother you? That is interesting. Please continue.

Okay, let’s assume the rise of bots and AI interfaces are inevitable. What does that actually mean, and what will that look like? Andrew Haeg of Groundsource wrote about a news bots workshop he attended in August at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in a piece for the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Haeg says the premise of the workshop was that bots “can help eliminate a lot of the pain and suffering involved in engaging audiences, and nudging them up the ladder to become subscribers or members.” Essentially, bots can help turn otherwise passive relationships between news producers and consumers into a more active and genuinely reciprocal exchange.

Click here to read the full write-up.

AI, big data, and journalistic ethics

The utility of bots and artificial intelligence technology is clear, but what about the ethics of AI? Mike Azzara says just thinking about AI ethics makes his brain hurt. That shouldn’t be too surprising, especially considering how much of our lives are already influenced at various levels by some form of bot or artificial intelligence — and it’s only going to get worse (or better, depending on your perspective). The advertising and marketing industry, for example, have been largely unforthcoming about how much data they’ve been collecting, let alone what they plan to do with it.

Click here to read the full op-ed.

A messed up Google Home Mini recorded a tech reporter 24/7

So far, we’ve heard that 1) bots are inevitable; 2) bots are incredibly useful; and 3) bots can be an ethical minefield — but what about security and privacy? As you can see from this piece in TechCrunch by Taylor Hatmaker, the smallest technical slip or glitch can lead to a whole range of privacy and security issues for bots and artificial intelligence technologies.

Click here to read the full story.Chart of the month:

Upcoming trainings & events:

INSTASNAP: REPORTING LIVE VIDEO 10 SECONDS AT A TIME
This one-hour webinar will dissect the rapidly-changing ways millennials consume news and information through scrolling, snapping and, of course, selfies. Don’t think a selfie can be news? Think again! This webinar will run on Oct. 20 starting at 2 p.m. More info.

BUILD A BOT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BOTS FOR NEWS
Come make a Facebook Messenger bot with John Keefe, bot developer and app product manager at Quartz. Class meets Wednesdays, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The cost for this workshop is $249. $199. More info.

INTRO TO 360° VIDEO JOURNALISM WITH BOB SACHA AND MATT MACVEY
Get up to speed with 360 video journalism from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and news organizations around the world. Learn how to use the emerging virtual reality medium in your newsroom to tell stories and connect with your audiences. Tickets to this workshop on Nov. 8 cost $99-$125. More info.

Bots, AI, and messaging apps

• The future of news is humans talking to machines by Trushar Barot
• Alexa Shop Assist wins the Disrupt SF 2017 Hackathon Grand Prize by Romain Dillet
• Does the idea of talking to a news bot bother you? That is interesting. Please continue. by Andrew Haeg
• How voice technology is changing everything for brands by Emily Tan and James Page
• Chatbots or Mobile Apps? Let the Game of Technologies Begin! by Shirya Patel
• We found the best tool for building chat bots by Emily Withrow
• AI, Big Data And Ethics by Mike Azzara
• Google’s AI chief thinks reports of the AI apocalypse are greatly exaggerated by Romain Dillet
• AI is going to be helpful for personalizing news — but watch out for journalism turning into marketing by Laura Hazard Owen
• Reveal launches ‘Amplify’, using bots to connect with podcast listeners by Center for Investigative Reporting
• Advertising Week Briefing: AI is everywhere and nowhere by Shareen Pathnk
• Try This: The news bots are coming. Do you know how to build yours? by Ren LaForme
• Heads Up! Marketers to Combine AI with 44 Billion Cameras by Ken Weiner
• Announcing Quackbot, a Slack bot for journalists from Quartz and DocumentCloud by John Keefe
• Petuum secures $93M Series B to push AI into the mainstream by John Mannes
• Yandex introduces Alice, an Alexa-like assistant that speaks Russian by Brian Heater
• A messed up Google Home Mini recorded a tech reporter 24/7 by Taylor Hatmaker
• Twitter Bots Distorted the 2016 Election — Including Many Likely From Russia by Denise Clifton
• Pushes of Note: Best Practices in Mobile Notifications [Sponsored by Knight Foundation] by ONA17 resources
• How Bots are Deepening Relationships with Readers by ONA17 resources
• Digital Interaction with News: How to Use AI and Bots in Your Newsroomby ONA17 resources

Virtual and augmented reality

• Quartz is using Apple’s new AR tech to “help people understand objects in the news” on iPhones by Ricardo Bilton
• ‘Choose your own adventure’: VR journalism gives audience controlby Francesco Marconi and Taylor Nakagawa
• Deep Dive into Immersive Journalism: Learn How, Why, and Best Practices by ONA17 resources
• Journalism 360: Creating Immersive Content on a Shoestring Budget by ONA17 resources
• Looking at the Augmented Newsroom of the Future by Mayo Nissen

Revenue and sustainability

• Are publishers making money on Facebook? “Not really,” a new report finds by Ricardo Bilton
• Facebook is getting aggressive in its quest to turn Instagram Stories into the next big ad platform by Tanya Dua
• Publishers are seeing real performance gains from Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles (but $$$ remains a question mark) by Ricardo Bilton
• Medium Opens Subscription Program to All Writers by Benjamin Mullin
• BuzzFeed thinks it has figured out a way to make web ads people might actually like by Mike Shields

Innovation and entrepreneurship

• With AM to DM, BuzzFeed brings the morning news show to Twitter by Catalina Albeanu
• Better News debuts as new resource to help news innovators learn, plan and do by American Press Institute
• Work in a digital innovation role in local news, or trying to transform your newsroom? Use this new trove of free resources for publishers by Shan Wang
• Arizona State University’s Cronkite School launches News Co/Lab, a collaborative lab aimed at creating, testing, and promoting news innovations by Dan Gillmor
• All the news that’s fit for you: The New York Times is experimenting with personalization to find new ways to expose readers to stories by Ricardo Bilton

Social tools and platforms

• Smarterphone 2017: Making the most of mobile multimedia by Jeremy Caplan
• Google News zooms in on hyperlocal and community news by Kristen Hare
• BuzzFeed’s strategy for getting content to do well on all platforms? Adaptation and a lot of A/B testing by Shan Wang
• Dating app Tinder can be a tool for journalists by Kevin McElwee
• News publishers need to rethink their digital platform strategies by Rande Price
• Use These Free and Easy Mobile Tools to Create Audio Stories in the Classroom by Kim Fox
• Facebook on Local News Partnerships: ‘We’re Just Getting Started’ by Tom Grubisich
• Facebook Subscriptions: ‘Tokenism’ or a Real Test? by Ken Doctor
• Social media maps lead audiences out of echo chamber by Sumaiya Omar
• Tip: Remember this advice for writing strong headlines for social media by Mădălina Ciobanu
• ‘Understand the platforms through trial and error’: Advice for media brands on social by Caroline Scott
• Try these 10 tips to create social video with impact by Lareeca Rucker
• Dos and Don’ts for Facebook Live by ONA17 resources

Research and reports

• Artificial Intelligence: Practice and Implications for Journalism by Mark Hansen, Meritxell Roca-Sales, Jonathan M. Keegan, and George King
• Local Journalism in the Pacific Northwest: Why it matters, how it’s evolving and who pays for it by Damian Radcliffe

Design and development

• What iOS 11 means for news publishers and readers by Priyanjana Bengani
• How to replace the content of an iOS notification by Alastair Coote
• Study: Clean Design Really Is Better by Katharine Schwab
• Audience Engagement Through Video: Live, Mobile and More by ONA17 resources
• Building Great Newsletters and Email Tools by ONA17 resources
• What Product and News Designers Can Learn From Each Other by ONA17 resources

Commentary and more

• The biggest mobile misconception by Peter Zeuschner
• Facebook can’t hide behind algorithms by Dave Lee
• We Need a ‘Verified Reader’ Tag For Comments by Ned Berke
• With its denial-of-service guide, the EFF wants to help small news organizations keep their sites online by Ricardo Bilton
• Stories are the New Story: Making Vertical Content Work by ONA17 resources
• Workflow Automation Tools for Newsrooms of Any Size by ONA17 resources

The Center for Cooperative Media will curate information about our efforts and the work of our grantees, along with relevant industry trends via this monthly newsletter, the contents of which will also be published on the NJ Mobile News Lab blog.