{"id":7995915,"date":"2026-04-08T08:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7995915"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:40:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:40:53","slug":"new-york-times-union-ai-policies-woefully-inadequate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/media-platforms\/journalism\/new-york-times-union-ai-policies-woefully-inadequate\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Times Guild Slams Paper\u2019s AI Policies as \u2018Woefully Inadequate\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Members of the New York Times\u2019 union slammed the company\u2018s AI policies in a letter to management as \u201cwoefully inadqeuate\u201d on Tuesday, citing TheWrap\u2019s report<\/a> on how a freelance book critic used AI for a Times book review as evidence that AI-generated content makes \u201creaders lose trust in what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur dedicated human journalists \u2014 including and especially the Times Guild\u2019s 1,500 members \u2014 make this paper a reliable source for millions of subscribers who want quality reporting and commentary,\u201d\u00a0the letter, signed by the union\u2019s AI subcommittee members Isaac Aronow, Parker Richards and Lydia DePillis, read. \u201cWhen the Times instead publishes AI-generated work, intentionally or not, our readers lose trust in what we do. This is unacceptable. At present, the Times\u2019 standards on AI use are woefully inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter, which was first reported<\/a> by Axios, was addressed to Times CEO and president Meredith Kopit Levien,\u00a0publisher A.G. Sulzberger, executive editor Joe Kahn and opinion editor Katie Kingsbury. It was also addressed to managing editors Marc Lacey and Carolyn Ryan, who are the management representatives in contract negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The staffers highlighted TheWrap\u2019s report from last week, which revealed the paper was cutting ties with freelance book critic Alex Preston after it discovered he used AI to help write a review that incorporated elements of a Guardian piece on the same book. Preston told TheWrap he used the tool \u201cimproperly\u201d and failed to catch \u201coverlapping language\u201d\u00a0with the Guardian review, and the Times called the usage \u201ca serious violation of the Times\u2019s integrity and fundamental journalistic standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The staffers said the Times\u2019 current public guidelines<\/a> on the technology are \u201coften unclear or open to interpretation\u201d as they said it places the burden on writers and editors instead of company leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe company calls on employees to use AI \u2018transparently,\u2019 but often fails to disclose how AI is used in stories (and, conversely, has at times claimed that AI did work that was in fact done by human Guild members),\u201d\u00a0the members wrote. \u201cWe are told to use AI \u2018ethically,\u2019 but given little guidance on what exactly that means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guild, which represents roughly 1,500 Times staffers, did not specify to which stories it was referring. The guild has also asked for the company to include protections around AI in the performance review process, offer clearer disclosures over how the technology is used in stories and strengthen protections over how AI uses a Times staffer\u2019s name, image and likeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiations around AI have stunted talks<\/a> between the Times and its guild as both sides have tried to hammer out a new agreement following its last contract\u2019s Feb. 28 expiration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacey told Times staffers in a letter on Tuesday that both sides agreed that \u201chaving\u00a0strong AI guidelines and standards\u201d\u00a0would \u201censure the integrity of our work and maintain the trust of our readers,\u201d\u00a0but noted that the guild\u2019s quest to define those guidelines in the contract could dampen how the paper experiments with the evolving technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere the company conflicts with guild leadership is whether we write AI restrictions and prohibitions into a contract lasting several years,\u201d\u00a0he wrote. \u201cAI technology is ceaselessly evolving \u2013 quickly \u2013 and we believe that this rapid change is precisely why we must remain flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacey also said both sides have tentatively agreed to disability accomodation language, a point the company previously tried to tie to its AI proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI negotiations have spread across newsrooms. Staffers at the Sacramento Bee and the Charlotte Observer, two news outlets owned by McClatchy, expressed concerns<\/a>\u00a0with management over a new AI tool meant to repurpose older stories under new headlines, and unionized ProPublica staffers staged<\/a> a 24-hour walkout on Wednesday after contract talks \u2014\u00a0including over AI provisions \u2014\u00a0broke down.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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“When the Times instead publishes AI-generated work, intentionally or not, our readers lose trust in what we do. This is unacceptable,” the union members write<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10244,"featured_media":7728686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":513131,"post_id":7831473}}]},"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"nb_breaking_email_type":"b8b5eaae-7af7-4a7d-8ff2-8ed7e2f9029d","nb_breaking_template":"single-story.html","nb_breaking_from_name":"TheWrap","nb_breaking_subject":"","nb_breaking_preview":"","nb_breaking_list":[],"nb_breaking_header_img":7555420,"nb_breaking_should_send":false,"nb_breaking_content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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