A computing journalist has urged publishers to become “major players” in the development of artificial intelligence.

Francesco Marconi, who runs information company AppliedXL, has told the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism he believes journalists can play a key role in the development of new AI tools.

The Insitute, based at the University of Oxford, has examined the future of AI in journalism in a report that comes as UK regional publishers and journalists begin fresh experimention with its use.

Reach plc confirmed earlier this month it has started piloting the use of robot reporting on its hyperlocal network In Your Area, while Dorset News and View From Weymouth editor Kallum Gethins has also pledged to use AI to help his coverage.

Francesco told the Institute: “The news industry must be actively engaged in the AI revolution.

“In fact, media companies have an opportunity to become a major player in the space – they possess some of the most valuable assets for AI development: text data for training models and ethical principles for creating reliable and trustworthy systems.”

Francesco also urged the industry to use robots to help filter out disinformation, rather than just content creation.

He added: “The explosion of data from sources such as the web, sensors, mobile devices, and satellites has created a world where there is simply too much information.

“We are now producing more information than at any other point in history, making it much more challenging to filter out unwanted information.

“AI should not only be seen as a tool to generate more content but also to help us filter it.

“Some experts predict that by 2026, 90pc of online content could be machine-generated.

“This marks an inflection point, where we now must focus on building machines that filter out noise, distinguish fact from fiction, and highlight what is significant.”