Associate Editorial Director, A.I. Initiatives

The New York Times; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative media organization seeks an associate editorial director to drive AI initiatives in journalism. This role involves collaborating with reporters to enhance workflows and reporting capabilities through generative AI and machine learning. By prototyping applications and establishing ethical guidelines, the director will empower the newsroom with cutting-edge tools while ensuring that the human element of journalism remains paramount. If you're passionate about experimenting with new technologies and shaping the future of journalism, this is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of newsroom experience with excellent editorial judgment.
• Understanding of large-language models and collaboration with engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead collaborations to identify AI solutions for newsroom challenges.
• Develop guidelines for ethical AI use in journalism.

Skills

Editorial Judgment

Journalistic Instincts

Collaboration with Engineers

Cross-Functional Teamwork

Understanding of AI Technologies

Tools

APIs

Web Applications

Job description

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

Job Description

The New York Times is seeking an associate editorial director to join our newly formed team focused on artificial-intelligence initiatives in the newsroom. The team is charged with ensuring The Times remains on the forefront of digital journalism by prototyping internal and reader-facing applications of generative A.I. and other machine-learning techniques. Our goal is to develop new forms of journalism, empowering reporters across the newsroom with new and useful tools, while establishing principles for the ethical use of these technologies.

As a core member of the team, the associate editorial director will bring their journalistic experience to bear on tools and product features that could improve internal workflows, reporting capabilities, and how The Times is presented to readers. The editor will lead collaboration with other desks in the newsroom, incorporating feedback from reporters and editors into the team’s work. They will also be responsible for ensuring that our use of A.I. serves to elevate and augment the human core of journalism.

The team, led by the editorial director for A.I. initiatives, will also include colleagues with a mix of engineering, research, and design talent, acting as a kind of skunkworks team within the newsroom. Together, they will partner with other teams in the news, product, and technology groups to take the best ideas from prototype to production.

Specific responsibilities include:

1. Leading collaborations with reporters and editors across the newsroom to identify real-world problems that might be solved with A.I. and collecting feedback.
2. Contributing to the team’s prototypes with ideas, sample copy, and other needs.
3. Developing and continually adapting our guidelines for safe and ethical use of A.I. in the newsroom, in collaboration with the standards desk.
4. Staying up-to-date on the latest A.I. research and model development, to help inform the team’s work and spread technical proficiency throughout the organization.

Basic qualifications include:

1. At least five years of experience in a newsroom.
2. Excellent editorial judgment and journalistic instincts.
3. Understanding of large-language and transformer models.
4. Experience collaborating with engineers and designers in an editorial environment.
5. Excellence at working in cross-functional groups, giving and receiving feedback, and contributing to a team’s culture.

Preferred qualifications include:

1. Deep understanding of machine learning.
2. Experience building web applications or other interfaces powered by APIs.
3. Experience working on experimental editorial products.

The ideal candidate for this position is an inveterate tinkerer, eager to experiment with new technologies and share their findings with others. We favor demos over memos, prototypes over concepts, collaboration over silos, and learning over knowing it all. If these values resonate with you, please consider applying regardless of whether you meet all of the qualifications.

The annual base pay salary for this role is between $130,000.00 and $150,000.00.

The New York Times is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce, one that reflects the varied global community we serve. Our journalism and the products we build in the service of that journalism greatly