INMA says the week's mission is to bring together news media companies and the emerging constellation of AI and tech companies into a conversation about what the AI-fueled future looks like.

Media Tech & AI Week will feature a two-day conference at KQED offices in San Francisco and a three-day study tour of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, adds the association. 

According to INMA, the conference will focus on:

  • how AI is changing consumer behaviour online
  • what data we have, what we need and how to get it in order
  • the upheaval of discovery through search and social media
  • evaluating the relationship with LLMs
  • how AI can help news realise multi-formats and products, and
  • what skills and tools news organisations need internally to deliver for this new world.

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the media landscape, the urgency for news organisations to adapt has never been greater. INMA says its Media Tech & AI Week will tackle the seismic shifts at the intersection of AI, technology, journalism and product. This gathering will equip media leaders with the strategies needed to stay ahead in an era of unprecedented transformation.

"INMA aims to bring together key players and key insights into one time-efficient, high-impact conference and study tour that puts media executives on the front row for AI innovation," says Earl J. Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO of INMA. "How should news organisations strategically navigate the new AI landscape and the LLMs that are carving up the space? With whom should you partner? Should we play it safe with Big Tech or pivot to Small Tech?"

Media Tech & AI Week is being curated by Jodie Hopperton, lead for INMA's 'Product & Tech' Initiative. INMA Digital Platform Initiative Lead, Robert Whitehead, and media tech and AI innovator, Nicki Purcell, will moderate the conference, adds the association. 

"I've been told by INMA members that there is no sufficient media-focused stage for professionals charged with navigating us through these technological waters," Hopperton says. "There is now."

INMA says the conference and study tour is designed for c-suite professionals interested in developing strategies and business models — notably AI Managers, Chief Technology Officers and Chief Product Officers at media companies. 

"If you want to understand AI's impact on news, you can read about it," Hopperton says. "If you want to truly shape the future of your news business, come to San Francisco."

Silicon Valley Study Tour

The eighth edition of INMA's Silicon Valley Study Tour from Monday, 20 to Wednesday, 22 October, will zero in on tech and AI across 15+ stops in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, says the association. 

The tour will focus on:

  • how the world's leading innovation ecosystem is evolving
  • the latest AI tools redefining creativity and business operations
  • shifts in consumer habits and expectations in a hyper-connected world
  • what advancements in AI mean for the future of media
  • strategies for storytelling in an era of AI-driven, multimodal experiences, and 
  • how to navigate partnerships and competition with AI companies shaping the future

Media Tech & AI Conference

The Media Tech & AI Conference will take place on Thursday 23 and Friday, 24 October, at the headquarters of KQED, an innovative locally owned and operated public media organisation that provides news, radio, television and educational services to Northern California, says INMA. 

According to INMA, the conference will be a tour de force across the rapidly changing tech and AI landscape for news media and include subjects such as:

  • Becoming an AI-First News Organisation
  • What News Can Learn From Radical Innovation
  • How Consumer Behaviour Is Changing With AI
  • How New Search Entrants Are Challenging the Status Quo
  • Discovery Upheaval: The Shifting Role of Newsletters
  • The Future of AI and Search
  • Data as the Fuel for AI
  • The AI Shift: From Text to Voice, Video and Beyond
  • Agentic AI in News
  • Organisational Structure of the Future: New Skills and Roles and What's at Risk
  • Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Risks, Governance and Realities
  • AI Mistakes to Avoid
  • The Value of Content: What's It Worth in an AI-Powered World?
  • AI as a Global Issue: Regulation, Manipulation and the Road Ahead, and
  • AI's Role in Newsroom Efficiency.

INMA concludes it will also unveil the latest results from its technology benchmark survey, providing key insights into how news organisations are adopting and integrating AI, automation and emerging technologies. 

For more information, visit www.inma.org. 

*Image courtesy of contributor