--- title: "The Washington Post Tells Staff It’s Pivoting to AI" description: "The Washington Post's new-ish CEO has announced that the newspaper will be pivoting to artificial intelligence to turn sales around." date: "2024-05-22" modified: "2024-05-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/washington-post-pivot-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "journalism" - "Media" - "the washington post" --- # The Washington Post Tells Staff It’s Pivoting to AI ![The Washington Post's new-ish CEO has announced that the newspaper will be pivoting to artificial intelligence to turn sales around.]() *\Image: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty / Futurism\* Already facing scandal, the *Washington Post*'s new-ish CEO and publisher, Will Lewis, has announced that the newspaper will be pivoting to artificial intelligence to turn around its dismal financial situation. As [*Semafor* media industry editor Max Tani tweeted](), Lewis told *Post* staffers today that the newspaper will be looking for ways to use AI in its reporting as it seeks to recoup some of the $77 million it lost last year. "To speak candidly: We are in a hole, and we have been for some time," the CEO said, [per an announcement](). "This is all repairable, all doable, particularly if we do it together." The paper's chief technology officer, meanwhile, announced to staffers that going forward, *WaPo* is to have "AI everywhere in our newsroom," [according to Tani](). It's unclear, however, what exactly that directive will entail. A former NewsCorp executive who [published the *Wall Street Journal*]() and was CEO of its parent company, Dow Jones, from 2014 until 2020, Lewis' short tenure at *WaPo* has already been plagued by controversy. After being [personally tapped by *WaPo* owner Jeff Bezos]() for the gig, Lewis began working as publisher of the newspaper at the beginning of 2024. Almost immediately, reports about NewsCorp's hacking scandal in the early 2010s, which involved the royal family and several celebrities, and which Lewis oversaw the response to, resurfaced. Along with it came new [allegations published by the *Daily Beast*]() that he led a so-called "witch hunt" to find those responsible. In another *WaPo*-related Tani scoop, [*Semafor* reported today]() that the paper's editors sought to downplay [Lewis' alleged participation in the coverup]() of the hacking scandal. Those reports came in light of a new UK ruling in a [lawsuit brought by Prince Harry](). Lewis and *WaPo* have both denied that he took part in any such coverup. Notably, the newspaper's announcement about its new revenue-boosting efforts doesn't include any explicit mention of AI. Instead, it makes vague reference to experimentation with "new offerings over the next few months." Coincidentally, news of *WaPo*'s AI pivot comes the same day as the [announcement of a landmark deal between NewsCorp and OpenAI]() that will allow the AI firm to use content from the conglomerate's properties, which include the *WSJ*, the *New York Post*, and the *Times of London*. It's a big day for NewsCorp and a big day for AI — and a bad one, we reckon, for the media as a whole. **More on AI in media:** [*Meet AdVon, the AI-Powered Content Monster Infecting the Media Industry*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()