Ethical guidelines for journalistic use of GenAI. The main trends in the international debate and progress in self-regulation in Spain

Abstract

The emergence of generative AI (GenAI) has led to a far-reaching transformation of the entire journalistic working process, from the business model to the production, distribution and consumption of content. Beyond the expectations of greater productivity and efficiency it has generated, its use also poses important individual, professional and democratic ethical risks. These include attacks on privacy, a decline in journalistic quality and an increase in misinformation. To deal with this situation, academics and the journalistic sector have been publishing different professional guidelines and codes in an attempt to guide the ethical use of this technology. Based on the systematic review of three sets of academic guidelines and 18 important professional publications, and including data from more than 60 countries, this study establishes a double objective: to identify the main trends determining the international ethical debate; and to examine the degree of correspondence between these trends and the first self-regulation initiatives launched by the Spanish media. The results show the construction of a professional consensus on clear ethical standards: principally transparency, human supervision, verification, and respect for classic journalistic values (truth, loyalty to the public, and checking information). Taking a similar conceptual basis, the Spanish media’s commitment to more operational ethical self-regulation codes –with express recommendations, for example, covering the traceability of sources, the differentiation of synthetic content, and limitations on the use of GenAI– is also clear.