Why we use AI
For decades, Bangor Daily News has embraced new technology that helps us deliver on our mission of providing Maine with essential news and information. From computer layout of print pages to widespread adoption of email, most new technologies at the outset have seemed silly or clunky at best, and dangerous or corruptive at worst. Generative artificial intelligence is firmly in that realm. It has tremendous capacity to help journalists better find and tell stories. But in its current form, it’s not ready for widespread, and unchecked, use. We use it now to test its applications, learn its limitations and experiment with useful new features for staff and readers.
How we use AI
The newsroom uses AI largely for administrative and production tasks, such as brainstorming headlines, creating summaries at the top of stories or generating metadata in the backend of articles. Our reporters use AI tools to quickly scan giant documents for newsworthy information that would otherwise take hours or days. We use AI to watch for keywords in videos of public meetings and conduct early research on stories or projects. The Classifieds department uses AI to help family members who are writing obituaries.