How we use AI
AI helps us work faster. It never decides what is true, and it never pretends to be a person or a photograph.
What AI does here
We use AI tools to help find promising stories, gather sources, draft first versions of text, and create clearly labelled illustrations for stories that have no photographable subject.
What humans do here
A human selects every story, checks every claim against the primary source, and edits and approves every published word. No article is published automatically.
Images
We use real, licensed photography for real people, places and species, and original charts for data. When we use an AI illustration, it is drawn in an obviously illustrative style and labelled "AI-assisted illustration". We never present AI imagery as documentary photography, and we do not use synthetic presenters or authors.
Why we tell you this
Our whole value is that you can trust what we publish. Being open about our tools is part of earning that trust.