The Atlantic Embraces AI, and Partnership with OpenAI

The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI to help shape the future of AI in a way that benefits serious journalism. While the deal has sparked some criticism, The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson believes it’s important for media companies to engage with AI and try to steer its development in a positive direction.

Key aspects of The Atlantic’s deal with OpenAI: The multi-part agreement allows OpenAI to train on The Atlantic’s data for two years, provides The Atlantic with credits to use OpenAI’s tools, and will include The Atlantic’s content in OpenAI’s forthcoming search product:

• The Atlantic will have some control over how OpenAI can use its data and the types of outputs it generates.
• The deal also involves a “product partnership” where The Atlantic will build AI-powered tools for its website using OpenAI’s technology.
• If OpenAI’s search becomes an important way people navigate the internet, Thompson believes it’s better for The Atlantic to be included and help shape it than to be left out.

Balancing the risks and opportunities of AI: While the deal with OpenAI has angered some journalists who fear AI’s impact on the industry, Thompson argues media companies must engage with this technology to influence its trajectory:

• He acknowledges the emotional and economic concerns about AI among content creators, but believes opting out entirely is not the right approach.
• The Atlantic wants to maximize the money flowing to serious journalism from AI while also pushing the technology to evolve in ways that are good for the industry.
• Thompson sees the deals media companies are striking with OpenAI as a way to establish a market and precedent for the value of journalistic content to AI systems.

Evolving beyond the “enshittification” of the web: With concerns growing that AI-generated content will degrade the quality of the internet, Thompson believes it’s crucial for legitimate publishers to be part of the AI ecosystem:

• He argues having high-quality sources like The Atlantic and The Verge included in AI search results is better than the alternative of those systems being trained primarily on low-quality, spammy content.
• While The Atlantic is less dependent on search traffic than many publishers, Thompson still sees developing AI search as an important hedge against Google’s dominance and the general pollution of the web.
• Ultimately, he believes the future of serious journalism will depend on media companies’ ability to build compelling products and exert influence over the direction of AI technology.

The enduring value of quality content and strong brands: Despite some arguing that the internet has diminished the importance of established media brands, Thompson maintains that original, high-quality content remains immensely valuable:

• He points to the continued success of The Atlantic’s subscription business as evidence that readers are willing to pay for good journalism, even without the added draw of games and auxiliary products.
• While it may be harder for new brands to build that kind of loyalty, especially in local markets, Thompson is confident that focusing on delivering real value to audiences is a viable path forward.
• He sees The Atlantic’s mission in the coming years as developing products that can help long-form journalism thrive and reach readers in a chaotic, AI-driven media environment.

Looking ahead with cautious optimism: As he works to steer The Atlantic through a period of immense disruption, Thompson remains hopeful about solving the challenges AI presents to the media business:

• He’s excited by the opportunity to collaborate with The Atlantic’s product and engineering teams on innovative ways to showcase the magazine’s journalism and potentially launch new ventures that align with its mission.
• While the threats posed by AI are serious, Thompson believes that by proactively engaging with the technology and fighting to uphold the value of its work, the media industry can find a way forward in this tumultuous new era.