Recent developments highlight the complex relationship between journalism and AI, as well as potential opportunities. In California, a proposed bill to fund newsrooms has sparked concerns about Google’s influence. Meanwhile, AI company Perplexity’s new revenue-sharing program with publishers shows promise but has faced criticism for content scraping, reflecting the ongoing challenges of blending AI with traditional media.

A draft proposal for Assembly Bill 886, aimed at funding California newsrooms, has sparked criticism from union journalists, with concerns that it reinforces Google’s monopoly power. The plan involves creating a non-profit public charity at UC Berkeley’s journalism school to manage the funds, with California contributing $30 million in the first year and Google providing $10 million to $20 million annually. Despite this funding plan, the proposed contributions are significantly less than what Google agreed to pay Canadian newsrooms under a similar initiative. The UC Berkeley fund would be overseen by a seven-member board, including representatives from various media organizations, with a portion of the funds reserved for underrepresented groups. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate Rules Committee.

Since its launch in 2022, Perplexity has quickly established itself as a major player in the generative AI space, offering a search product that synthesizes and summarizes information in real-time. The company, now valued at $3 billion, has introduced the Perplexity Publishers’ Program, which includes a revenue-sharing model where publishers earn a portion of advertising revenue generated from their content used in Perplexity’s AI-generated responses. The initiative has attracted notable partners like Time, Der Spiegel, and The Texas Tribune. However, Perplexity has faced criticism for its internet scraping practices and lack of proper attribution, leading to legal threats from publishers like Forbes and Wired. The program marks a shift toward more collaborative AI content licensing, distinguishing Perplexity’s approach from other AI companies like OpenAI.