How does a 182-year-old global magazine stay ahead in the age of generative AI? This week on Newsroom Robots, host Nikita Roy is joined by Ludwig Siegele, Senior Editor for AI Initiatives at The Economist. After more than 25 years reporting from San Francisco, Berlin, and London, Siegele now leads the publication’s AI strategy. He discusses how The Economist launched its AI Lab—a startup-style group within the organization with the freedom to test bold ideas and move quickly. The lab is charged with looking years ahead, preparing for a future where much of journalism’s supply chain may be automated, and ensuring The Economist maintains its identity in an AI-driven media ecosystem.
From practical newsroom wins like AI-powered translation and research pipelines to more experimental projects such as TikTok video dubbing and the SCOTUS bot, Siegele explains how The Economist is testing, iterating, and learning in real time. He also reflects on what hasn’t worked, the challenges of newsroom adoption, and why the next phase of journalism may require redefining the role of the journalist itself.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introducing Ludwig Siegele & The Economist’s AI journey
01:31 – How AI experimentation began at The Economist
03:26 – Overcoming newsroom fear of ChatGPT
04:53 – Building AI infrastructure and upskilling staff
07:10 – The tools and vendor partnerships powering experiments
08:29 – Why adoption is harder than building tools
12:10 – Translation, research, and NotebookLM as newsroom game changers
16:06 – How automation could reshape the journalist’s role
18:41 – Launching The Economist AI Lab
24:11 – Audience-facing AI experiments (TikTok dubbing, Espresso app, SCOTUS bot)
26:05 – Partnering with Google NotebookLM while protecting the brand
30:02 – Scraping, monetization, and the future of publisher revenue
33:41 – Measuring ROI on AI initiatives
37:40 – The biggest barriers to newsroom AI adoption
39:14 – How Ludwig uses AI personally in art and culture
40:40 – Closing reflections
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