Text: All articles published on this blog were written by a human placing their hands on a keyboard and hammering them out. No articles are dreamt up by LLMs/chatbots.
However, the use of AI tools in the wider world is inescapable and presents risks.
Reporting on projects, companies and individuals means reading and often quoting from what could be AI-generated press releases, changelogs or website copy.
Search results and social media often show AI-generated summaries to queries and – disturbingly – use AI to rewrite headlines, post excerpts and on-page SERP/answers.
I practice good hygiene as a reporter: reputable sources, quotes, attributed statements. I have taken to snarking in-article when I suspect the project info, press release or statements I’m working from from appears to be heavily AI generated.
I make infrequent use of Pangram, an AI-powered AI detection tool, on any text or web source which I’m suspicious of.
Images: All custom graphics on this site (article thumbnails, hero images, banners, etc) are created by hand without the use of generative AI tools in any part of the process.
I – since 2009 – have always used third-party assets and elements, e.g., app logos, fonts, textures and stock images, in my design work. There is a risk that third-party elements I incorporate have used AI generation, but not labelled as such. I explicitly avoid AI assets, but there is residual risk.
Should any purportedly “real” photos be sent to me showing improbable or unique situations related to topics I cover, I would run them through AI-powered AI image detection tools to check for signs of generation AI usage or watermarks. If flagged, they won’t be used.
Topics: As (ostensibly) a reporter, I have to cover relevant AI developments, tools and integration efforts as they pertain to Ubuntu and the wider open-source ecosystem. Covering AI/ML related news does not count as an endorsement.
My role is to share information and report on updates (e.g., apps which may gain AI-powered features) or platform changes (e.g., Ubuntu adding AI features) as well as wider community and industry policy and debate around AI.
This disclosure/policy will be amended as/if needed.