FAIRmedia

The "FAIRmedia" research project aims to promote the fair and trustworthy use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media.

The focus is on the fast-moving changes in media consumption, the constantly evolving media landscape and the resulting democratic challenges. FAIRmedia (Fair and Trusted Data Sets for Media Computing) addresses these topics in the interplay of media, AI and data sovereignty in conjunction with legal implications.

The intention of the project is to support media professionals in overcoming these challenges and to strengthen the important role of media in democracy.

The project includes:

• the creation of a framework for the efficient production of fair and trustworthy data sets;
• the development of no/low-code tools;
• the creation of post-hoc explainable AI tools.

The focus is on the development of a toolbox to efficiently create trustworthy datasets from current and archived content of Austrian media organizations that comply with the applicable legal framework, the content of which will be analyzed based on the project.  FAIRmedia strives to strengthen data sovereignty in Europe by creating data sets under full control of Austrian media organizations, as there are dependencies on global tech companies and risks of losing critical data sets if numerous data sets for AI training come from organizations outside the EU (especially from China and the US). It also aims to develop no/low-code tools that enable various actors in the media industry (journalists, editorial managers, audience managers and archivists) to train AI models without in-depth programming knowledge. In addition, post-hoc explainable AI tools will be developed to enable a better understanding of the trained models and provide guidance on the balance of data sets.

The project is carried out by renowned partners such as APA, FH St. Pölten, JOANNEUM RESEARCH, Department of Innovation and Digitalisation in Law, ORF, Österreichischen Mediathek, and Redlink. The project is coordinated by JOANNEUM RESEARCH DIGITAL Institute. In cooperation with leading media organisations, companies and research institutions, FAIRmedia contributes to the development of innovative solutions for the challenges of the modern media landscape. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology, represented by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).