
A regulator, a technologist and a politician walking into a conference room - the beginning of a very geeky joke - or more accurately, the start of the second Thomson Talks with Madhav Chinnappa, focused on the specific subject of AI/News & Regulation.
Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, CEO of IMPRESS, offered perspectives on media regulation, the complexity in identifying harm, regulatory methodologies such as state versus self-regulation, and keeping in mind who would be the beneficiaries of any regulation.
Jennifer Beroshi, Head of Policy at Google DeepMind, discussed the challenges of regulating AI, particularly in distinguishing between application of AI and models underpinning them, and the need for forward-thinking governance and posited while this is a broad, controversial and complex area at a high level, that there must be specific smaller issues where we can agree quickly and build from there.
Lord (Chris) Holmes of Richmond MBE advocated for agile and transparent regulation, emphasising the importance of public engagement and ethical considerations in AI governance.
The discussion that followed was filled with much divergence of opinion on many issues, including the foundational one of whether there should be regulation or not. The answers varied from Yes, No, to It-Is-Already-Here.
Regulation: Yes v No The Yes to Regulation camp talked about how the harms are real and exist today and therefore action is needed. On a more practical level, there are areas of less controversy that we should be working on now. This requires collaboration due to the urgency that exists. Election integrity was raised and given the timings in the UK, the need for an immediate voluntary code of conduct between the major political parties, tech companies and publishers was outlined.
The No (or perhaps Maybe/Be Careful ) camp raised the lack of understanding among regulators, how it can stifle research and innovation as well as the potential unintended consequences of hasty regulation. A point was made that GDPR has hindered identifying bad actors in disinformation troll networks. Additionally, there are existing laws around copyright and data privacy that remain relevant to the AI debate.
Globalisation: There were a number of concerns about how the global nature of AI impacts regulation on both a practical level as well as an equity level. For example, given the EU AI Act and the US's AI Bill of Rights, how can the UK act in concert with those initiatives versus being sidelined. Additionally, so much of the thinking is from a Global North perspective where the harms might be even more damaging for the Global South, especially if mishandled. How do we address this imbalance?
Democracy: The impact on democracy overall was discussed and posited that that is what we should be trying to protect, rather than journalism or incumbent players in the information ecosystem. What is the public good and how can we protect that?
Agentic: Regulation could be even more difficult in an agentic world where AI acts without humans in the loop and therefore there are no true good' or bad' actors as in the future of the AI itself is its own agent.
Process: While perspectives varied on the necessity and efficacy of regulation, there was some agreement that a collaborative, dialogue-based approach was needed to achieve the balance between innovation and safeguarding against harm. An interesting point was made by a regulator that one of the most effective techniques they have is human-to-human dialogue to create change in companies without the need for regulatory interventions. A further point was made that involving the public is critical and the process used around IVF could be a model as it was a groundbreaking technology with many ethical issues that required bringing the public on board during the development of regulation.
The second Thomson Talks held on 24th February 2024 at Thomsons London headquarters provided valuable insights into the multifaceted issues surrounding AI regulation in the news industry, highlighting the importance of informed and collaborative approaches with the emergent regulatory landscape to ensure the development of good regulation versus just fast - and potentially damaging - regulation.
The third Thomson Talks will be held in Germany in June 2024.
-- Play
-- --
AI & Disinformation courses
Rethinking disinformation: psychology, prebunking and other tactics to halt the spread.
AI in the newsroom: the ethical approach
Journalism Now
Thomsons e-learning platform
Madhav Chinnappa Thomson Talks
Madhav Chinnappa, the former Director of News Ecosystem Development at Google and veteran news executive, leads our Thought Leadership events Thomson Talks.
Explore our projects across the globe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
27/08/2026
For years, the media and entertainment industry has hesitated to use AI-voiced dubbing due to concern for audience experience. New data from 3Play Media, a glob...
27/08/2026
Starfish Technologies has announced the forthcoming V9 release of its Advantage AD workstation, adding support for voice synthesis services and giving Audio Des...
27/08/2026
Lightware's UBEX is a powerful AV-over-IP product well suited for rental and staging workflows where systems must be fast to deploy, easy to repurpose, and ...
27/08/2026
Lightware has expanded the scalability of its 10G TPN AV-over-IP platform with the introduction of the new TPN-MMU-X100 Matrix Management Unit, enabling systems...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
PlayBox Neo Stand 7.C29 IBC2026 - 11 14 September
Well-established global specialists in media playout, automation, and streaming solutions, PlayBox Neo ...
27/08/2026
Rise Academy, the broadcast and media skills charity dedicated to delivering practical media technology learning experiences, careers resources and work experie...
27/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase the latest evolution of its ...
27/08/2026
Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program 27 August 2026
Applications are now open for the Screen Australia Global Fellowships progra...
27/08/2026
NVIDIA's Gamescom announcements are revealing what's next for GeForce NOW, with new ways to play, more supported devices and platforms, and even more bi...
26/08/2026
Applicants interested in the Media Innovation Europe 3.0 Validation Booster call can now consult a new FAQ document addressing practical questions raised during...
26/08/2026
Roku Sports Channel will stream eight matches free beginning Aug. 30 as league shifts Sunday-night games away from Victory+...
26/08/2026
Evertz and Mobile TV Group detail how on-premises infrastructure and cloud resou...
26/08/2026
The Sennheiser Group will demonstrate its broadcast audio portfolio at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50), covering wireless microphone workflows, studio monitoring, a...
26/08/2026
Appear and Transmisiones Televisivas TVTEL Limitada have announced the deploymen...
26/08/2026
Leader Electronics has announced that Danish broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Leader LPX500 hybrid IP/SDI waveform monitor and LT4670 sync puls...
26/08/2026
Encompass will demonstrate its Altitude media services at IBC2026 (IAMT Hub, Diamond Lounge, Hall 3, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
Key products on show incl...
26/08/2026
Daktronics has partnered with Massillon Washington High School in Ohio to install a new LED video display and implement the Daktronics Camino show control platf...
26/08/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Dubai-based Venuetech LLC as its main partner for the Middle East. Venuetech distributes professional audiovisual solutions across the r...
26/08/2026
NBC Sports NOW, NBC Sports' free 24/7 streaming channel, will launch a new weekday lineup beginning Monday, August 31, including two new shows.
Not So Fast...
26/08/2026
Calrec will demonstrate updates to its ImPulseV DSP software and Argo ecosystem at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47), including previews aligned with the EBU's Dynamic ...
26/08/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate AI applications across its ad tech and video infrastructure portfolios at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September...
26/08/2026
Dalet will demonstrate updates to Dalet Flex, Dalet Pyramid, and Dalia, its agentic AI platform, at IBC2026 (Hall 7, Stand 7.A43). The company will also partici...
26/08/2026
Team-owned platform will stream every locally carried Predators game beginning t...
26/08/2026
The 12-day tournament receives the broadcaster's full onsite-studio presence...
26/08/2026
A synth with no controls?
If you're into weird and wonderful instruments, then you may already be familiar with Warsaw-based SOMA Laboratory - if you...
26/08/2026
Physical modelling orchestral instrument announced
Following their recent cryptic hints, Dreamtonics have officially revealed the latest addition to their s...
26/08/2026
Discussions at the Meitingen site on competitiveness, energy supply, and fuel cell technology
Bertram Brossardt, CEO of the Bavarian metal and electrical emplo...
26/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz USA celebrates grand opening of new manufacturing center in Fred...
26/08/2026
For large media companies, the content archive is a gold mine. There are thousands of hours of existing, high-value assets just waiting to be tapped for highlig...
26/08/2026
Ad Supported Viewing Represents 71.5% of TV in Q2
Streaming Captures Over 48% o...
26/08/2026
Charity sector ad spend reached $278 million as 44% of Australians donated to ch...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
MediaKind today announced that CNBC UK has selected Beam to modernize its contribution and distribution infrastructure, bringing greater flexibility, resilience...
26/08/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of Telestream UP, expanding the cloud-native platform introduced ...
26/08/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced its 2026 Honorees, recognizing individuals and organizations whose contrib...
26/08/2026
New solution bridges connected TV (CTV) and ecommerce to make shoppable performance advertising easier to scale for streaming platforms and broadcasters
Broadp...
26/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Recent advances in robotics, automation and artificial intelligence...
26/08/2026
How WeFX Made From's' Monsters Feel Uncomfortably Real
Brie Clayton August 26, 2026
0 Comments
From eight-foot dolls and feathered birds to R...
26/08/2026
Eleanor Roosevelt High School Elevates Student Rallies with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 26, 2026
0 Comments
Student led production team uses...
26/08/2026
K-Frame and Maverik X innovations extend familiar production control into AMPP, alongside new replay, audio, commentary and communications capabilities.
At IBC...