The introduction of generative AI is bringing about various social changes. As platform operators are increasingly applying generative AI to their services, the business forms of existing media companies that depend on platforms are also facing a new phase.

The 'Policy Discussion on Portal News Search Service Reorganization' co-hosted by Democratic Party of Korea members Min Hyung-bae and Jang Kyung-tae and the Korea Digital Newspaper Association was held on the 15th in the 1st seminar room of the National Assembly Members' Hall.

■ Kakao, Portal News Search Service Reorganization

Last August, Naver added a preferential search option for content partners (CPs), and in November, Kakao drastically reduced the default number of Daum news searches from 1,176 media companies to 146 CPs.

The News Alliance Evaluation Committee (hereafter referred to as the News Evaluation Committee), which was a self-regulatory organization, was temporarily suspended in May of last year under the pretext of reviewing the creation of an alliance model suitable for the media environment, but no specific plan has been prepared since then. At the time, many media companies said that the two major portals were acting in a way that they could not understand the situation in which 90% of the media companies were being driven out for 10% of the media companies.

Unilateral changes in service by platform companies can be pointed out as unfair practices such as △restricting users’ right to know, △violating freedom of expression, △distorting the public forum for news, and △discriminating against media companies. The platform companies' systems are strengthening their market dominance. Opaque algorithms, portal in-link methods, etc. are lowering the usage rate of media companies and causing a gap in negotiation power between the two parties, deepening the media companies' dependence on and dependence on portals. The current portal news ecosystem is suffering from institutional-level problems.

In particular, the conflict between platform companies and media companies is deepening due to the limitations in portal news-related regulations. Since portal sites are private companies, the regulation itself is difficult due to issues such as freedom of expression, excessive regulation, fairness, and effectiveness.

Rep. Min Hyung-bae of the Democratic Party, who hosted the discussion that day, said, “Small and medium-sized, regional, and internet media outlets are facing a crisis after losing their main news providers, and users’ freedom of choice has also been restricted,” and added, “We need to find ways to restore the portal ecosystem where diverse news coexists.”

The presenter, Professor Seung-Hyun Yoo of Hanyang University's Graduate School of Journalism and Communication, suggested a plan to overcome this by establishing governance to achieve balance and harmony among each entity in order to improve the current ecosystem. He explained that the government should comprehensively monitor and support the ecosystem by considering a mutually cooperative and win-win model, and that media companies, broadcasters, and portals should discuss policies on an equal footing. Professor Yoo evaluated the News Review Committee and added that the introduction of a 'joint news portal for media companies' as an alternative to the current portal news service should be considered.

■ Generative AI changes the framework of media companies

It is also necessary to reestablish the relationship between media companies and portals. Professor Yoo said, “We need to re-discuss the method of partnership between media companies and portals, the establishment of fairness standards, and the method of calculating news content fees.”

This trend has been occurring overseas recently. Google has agreed to pay the New York Times $100 million over three years to use its content, and the European Union (EU) is also negotiating with platform operators for news content, indicating that the relationship between global media companies and platform companies is changing.

Generative AI is playing a part here. The introduction of generative AI is expected to provide opportunities not only to existing search affiliated media companies, but also to various media outlets that have not partnered with Naver, Kakao, etc. Generative AI requires a lot of data for learning, and in this case, text extracted from news articles and publications can provide language data.

In particular, high-quality news content that is not simply pasted or spread can efficiently perform real-time fact-checking on social content and creations created by generative AI. Kim Wi-geun, Chief Research Officer of PUBLISH, argued that “the role of media companies as verification agencies for social content created by generative AI will be emphasized.”

For example, ChatGPT Open AI is negotiating copyrights with American media outlets. After releasing the 'GPT Store' last week, it is planning to use news content to increase the accuracy of GPT. Prior to this, it was recently reported in foreign media that Apple was also contacting media outlets and publishers to develop a generative AI model to compete with ChatGPT. It is explained that Apple is pursuing licensing agreements with Condé Nast Media Group of Vogue and The New Yorker, and IAC Group of NBC News, People magazine, and The Daily Beast, and has proposed approximately 65 billion won.

Accordingly, the credibility of the media is expected to receive more attention. The opinion is that the media should be aware of copyright infringement and focus on fact-checking to avoid using generative AI to create false news and fake information. If news sections have so far generated traffic through content posting order and provocative titles to attract users' attention, the business model of media companies that relied on platforms is expected to gradually disappear, and the capabilities of media companies that provide quality, verifiable content are expected to receive more attention.

As generative AI changes the paradigm of various businesses, experts agree that media companies should not be lazy in responding to unfair aspects while also performing new roles that they can provide to the country, region, and citizens.