AFP launches MediaGen, a generative AI project for media

With a total budget of 4 million euros, this project, selected as part of the France 2030 plan, is supported by the French Public Investment Bank (BPI). Led by AFP, the project brings together a consortium of French technology players: Quivr and Kairntech, two start-ups specialised in the design and roll-out of AI tools, as well as Dawex, the leader in secure and trusted data exchange solutions. 

“MediaGen is one of the few France 2030 projects devoted to the media. It must demonstrate that AI innovation can be used for reliable, responsible, and independent news,” said Fabrice Fries, AFP’s Chairman and CEO, at the project launch.  

The project will last 24 months and will develop three tools:  

• Enhanced news monitoring: customisable tools capable of pulling together and analysing news from multiple sources (media, social networks, press releases) in real time to improve news gathering. 

• Advanced multimodal search tools to explore and get value from text, photo, and video archives. 

• Assistance with content production: a tool that will make it easier to roll out the same content across multiple formats, and also pinpoint biases undermining the quality of news.  

“This project, built around three very concrete use cases, is a unique opportunity for Kairntech to put its generative AI know-how at the service of French media,” said Vincent Nibart, Deputy CEO of Kairntech.  

“MediaGen is an incredible opportunity for Quivr/The Vibe Company and our open-source project: a technical challenge in a sector that matters deeply to us,” said Stan Girard, co-founder of Quivr/The Vibe Company. 

MediaGen will be based on proven data exchange technology, enabling to manage multiple news and data sources, while ensuring that the newsflows feeding MediaGen developed tools are contracted, traced and secure.

“Dawex is delighted to bring its expertise and technology to MediaGen, to strengthen the security, traceability, and compliance of data exchanges. MediaGen will contibute to building a trusted data ecosystem that meets the concrete needs of the media sector,” said Laurent Lafaye, Co-CEO of Dawex. These developments aim to improve newsroom efficiency while also ensuring AI use remains ethical and under the control of journalists. 

MediaGen will be a collaborative project:  

• Various news outlets will take part in the initial phase of assessing what is required.  

• Some of the technologies developed under MediaGen will then be made available via an open-source licence, for the benefit of the entire media sector. Other parts will be commercialised. 

Some of the technology developed under MediaGen will be marketed to businesses in France and internationally, such as strategic and economic monitoring dashboards for companies and institutions.