“(OpenAI) privately complained to NBC News that the author of the story had been paid by the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, as part of a fellowship program that embeds journalists within news organizations for several months to write stories about artificial intelligence and its growing impact.”

– Max Tani

Semafor reports how an AI journalism fellowship is at the centre of the latest skirmish between competing factions within the AI community. Two camps, once identified for their “go fast” or “go slow” beliefs regarding AI development, have evolved to become known as the “accelerationists” and the “effective altruists.”

The flashpoint was an NBC story, prepared by a Tarbell Center for AI Journalism fellow, that said OpenAI was issuing legal threats to critics.

Tarbell funds newsroom placements of journalists with specialty knowledge of fast-moving events in AI development. Semafor says the organization is partially backed by groups concerned with AI safety, and accelerationists argue this may tilt coverage.

Tarbell says it maintains strict editorial firewalls, its fellows operate under newsroom editors with complete independence, and have produced work critical of companies on both sides of the debate.