Two regional publishers and a hyperlocal news title have joined an international project exploring the potential of artificial intelligence in journalism.

Archant, Reach plc and the Bristol Cable are among a 21-strong cohort of news organisations from around the world which will work together to discover, test, and demonstrate the potential offered by AI technologies.

The scheme, entitled ‘JournalismAI Collab’, is being led by journalism think-tank Polis, which is based at the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics.

Mattia Peretti, of Polis, said in a blog the project was “partly driven by the coronavirus pandemic”.

Mattia, pictured, wrote: “Over the next days, participants of the Collab will gather in teams around some of those challenges and together we will start a 6-month journey to discover, test and demonstrate the potential of AI and machine learning to design innovative journalistic solutions.

“This is an open process and when the final challenges are defined, we will tap into the amazing expertise represented in our network by technologists, researchers and entrepreneurs who might want to contribute.

“Learnings from the Collab will be shared with our growing network throughout the year, leading up to a public showcase in November – virtual or in-person, we shall see.

“It’s an experiment. We don’t know where it will lead us. But the time to get creative and imagine newsrooms where journalists and AI work together to better meet our audiences’ needs is now.”

Nick Cameron, head of performance at Archant, said: “We’re very excited to collaborate with newsrooms across the world as we explore how AI can be a force for good in local journalism.”