New ICFJ Knight Fellows to Pioneer AI Media Projects

By: ICFJ | 01/23/2024

The International Center for Journalists has selected two new Knight Fellows for 2024, both innovators who will work to advance journalism through the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

Nikita Roy, a data scientist and AI expert based in Canada, plans to create courses to teach journalists AI literacy during her fellowship. She will focus on the potential benefits and risks of AI technologies for newsrooms, and how AI-powered tools can improve sustainability for community media.

Roy is the founder of NRI Nation, a digital news startup dedicated to serving the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) population worldwide. Roy also created the popular Newsroom Robots podcast, where she interviews leaders in journalism and AI. The podcast has ranked among the top tech podcasts globally on Apple Podcasts and has listeners in 86 countries.

Mattia Peretti, another 2024 ICFJ Knight Fellow, thinks of himself as a learning experience designer, and has been working on how news organizations can use AI responsibly and effectively for years. During his fellowship, Peretti aims to produce a playbook on strategies for helping journalists better serve their communities using AI, and convening a community of AI leaders to build an open-source infrastructure for AI-powered editorial products.

Peretti’s experience includes managing JournalismAI, a joint initiative between the London School of Economics and the Google News Initiative focused on training journalists on AI. He has a passion for systems thinking, user experience design, data analysis and community building.

The ICFJ Knight Fellowships provide funding for selected journalists and technologists to advance media innovation and entrepreneurship to serve their communities. The innovations from the fellowship are shared world wide and aim to bolster sustainable, trustworthy journalism that serves the public interest.

ICFJ will open a call for more fellows soon for 2024. Sign up here for more information.

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