More than 80 participants gathered at Ippen Digital’s Munich Headquarters on June 13 for the first meetup of the AI for Media Network.
The event focused on how newsrooms use AI language models for text production. Attendees were treated to demonstrations of AI platforms and had the opportunity to engage in networking sessions.
Jan Ippen, CEO of Ippen Digital, and Uli Köppen, Head of the AI + Automation Lab at Bayerischer Rundfunk, opened the meetup. Köppen emphasized the collective challenge posed by AI: “The challenges with AI affect us all: That’s why public broadcasters, media enterprises, and science need to come together.” Ippen outlined his company’s AI strategy: “Standardize, automate, centralize – and then scale.”
Demonstrations and Networking Opportunities
Attendees learned about various use cases where editorial teams are using large language models.
David Kaumanns from Ippen Digital showcased language models trained with Ippen’s own data, capable of generating headlines and teasers in the style of media brands like the Münchner Merkur at the push of a button.
BR’s Steffen Kühne demonstrated the Aiditor, an AI platform with pre-programmed prompts for specific tasks such as text generation, translation, and transcription.
SWR’s Anika Schnücke and Sebastian Mondial introduced SWR-GPT, which allows journalists to transform a news agency report into a radio feature, among other applications.
- Video recording of the opening and all three lectures (password protected)
- The three presentations are available as PDF here (in German)
- Find the meetup agenda here
AI for Media Network will host Online Meetups as well
Each team then engaged with attendees at individual tables, answering in-depth questions about their AI platforms. The event also provided ample opportunities for personal networking, which participants greatly appreciated.
To reach a wider audience, the AI for Media Network will also host online meetups, where more AI use cases in the media sector will be showcased. The next in-person meetup hosted by Bayerischer Rundfunk is scheduled for October 9.
ⓘ If you have any questions, please contact AI for Media Network Manager Bernd Oswald at aiformedia@br.de or check out the AI for Media Homepage.
