The Times and Sunday Times stand for the highest levels of editorial excellence and integrity. As we explore the potential of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) our commitment is to uphold those standards. To that end, we believe that the following editorial principles and guidelines must be observed:

1. Our articles will continue to be reported, written and edited by people. We employ many of the finest journalists in the world, and we do not believe that gen AI can replace this human craftsmanship. No stories at The Times and Sunday Times will be generated by AI whether they reach you digitally, in print, by audio, video or photography.

2. As AI technology is increasingly deployed across the internet — from Google search to ChatGPT — we will reinforce the need for all facts to be checked by our journalists and editors. In an era of widespread misinformation, the need for fact checking by professional journalists has never been greater.

3. Our aim with gen AI is to enhance the reader experience, and reach new audiences. For example, gen AI has the potential to turn a text article into audio, or translate an article into a foreign language. In any instance where AI is used in service of our journalism, such as helping a reporter find information in a vast data base, our principle will be that there must always be human oversight and fact checking. Our editors are accountable for the veracity of everything that we publish.

4. Our commitment to readers is to be transparent in how we are using Gen AI in order to ensure that we can be held to the highest ethical standards, as outlined in the Editors’ Code of Practice. Gen AI in the newsroom is currently very limited. Uses include:
a. Headline suggestions for editors based on the text of an article. The editor always has the final say.
b. Story summaries for the editor to consider based on the text of an article. An editor always has the final say.
c. Alt-text for images, which is not displayed to readers.
d. Vetting readers’ comments at the end of articles for instances where there might be a serious breach of our standards. The editorial moderation team always makes the final decision on whether a post should be removed.

5. We welcome readers’ views on our AI guidelines, which will be reviewed regularly. You can reach our editorial standards by emailing [email protected]