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California to Announce $40M Annual AI and Journalism Deal with Google Partnership

Aug 19, 2024, 10:49 PM

California is set to announce a significant deal aimed at funding local journalism through partnerships with major technology companies. The draft agreement, which has drawn criticism for its focus on AI, proposes an annual investment of $40 million in artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, with a total of hundreds of millions of dollars allocated over the next five years. The funding for journalism will include at least $45 million in the first year. This initiative, however, has faced criticism for shifting focus from journalism to AI innovation, with more funding coming from taxpayers rather than tech companies. The deal involves collaboration with Google, despite recent antitrust violations by the company. The proposal is seen as a replacement for the CA Journalism Preservation Act, which was criticized for failing to address Google's monopoly.