When hundreds of media leaders gather in San Francisco this week, they’ll do so at the heart of a revolution. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing how journalism is created, distributed, and valued — and INMA’s Media Tech & AI Week will offer an up-close, 360-degree look at that transformation in action.

The week combines a three-day Silicon Valley study tour with a two-day strategic conference designed to give participants an insider’s view of the technology shaping the industry and strategic insight to apply it responsibly and profitably.

The result is a rare immersion: from visits to global tech companies and academic labs to candid conversations with product innovators, data scientists, and newsroom leaders who are putting AI to work every day.

Connecting the dots between AI, media, and innovation

“Artificial Intelligence is no longer theoretical,” said Jodie Hopperton, INMA’s Product and Tech Initiative lead and curator of the week. “It’s influencing every part of the media value chain — from creation to distribution to monetisation. This week in San Francisco will help INMA members see where those dots connect.”

Over five days, participants will explore both sides of the AI equation: the technological infrastructure being built in Silicon Valley and the strategic shifts required inside media companies to make use of it.

While the tone will be optimistic, the conversations will not shy away from the hard questions:

• How can publishers protect the value of their content when large language models train on it?

• What does fair compensation look like in the AI era?

• How do newsrooms balance experimentation with governance, creativity with accountability?

These are the kinds of discussions that will define Media Tech & AI Week.

San Francisco: Where the future of media takes shape

It is no accident INMA chose San Francisco for Media Tech & AI Week. The Bay Area remains the world’s leading hub for technology, research, and venture investment — but also a place where questions about power, ethics, and responsibility in tech are being asked most urgently.

By bringing media executives to this epicentre, INMA aims to ensure that publishers are not passive observers in the AI revolution but informed participants helping to shape its trajectory.

“AI will define the next decade of journalism,” Hopperton said. “Our role is to help news organisations approach it with clarity, confidence, and creativity.”

For attendees, Media, Tech & AI Week promises to do just that — combining access, analysis, and inspiration in equal measure. 

The study tour: inside the Silicon Valley ecosystem

The first three days take participants beyond conference halls and into the offices of companies shaping the AI landscape — from fast-moving startups to established platforms and universities.

The Silicon Valley Study Tour begins with a briefing on the local innovation ecosystem before heading into a series of in-person visits that trace the contours of the modern AI economy.

Participants will engage directly with AI pioneers, platform leaders, and researchers who are redefining communication, data use, and human-machine collaboration. The tour includes diving into 12 companies, representing the full spectrum of AI in media — from platforms (Google, Microsoft, OpenAI) and infrastructure providers (Cloudflare, AWS, CTGT) to media innovators (The New York Times, Hearst) and next-generation players (Otter.ai, You.com, Vermillio, LinkedIn, Stanford).

Discussions will centre on themes such as:

• Responsible AI development: How global platforms are balancing innovation with transparency, privacy, and data ethics.

• Content protection and rights: New tools to trace how news content is used in AI models and ensure publishers receive fair value.

• The next generation of AI assistants: How conversational interfaces and agentic AI could redefine everything from reporting workflows to audience interaction.

• Infrastructure and transparency: What the world’s biggest cloud and research organisations are doing to audit, secure, and scale AI responsibly.

The study tour also weaves in the academic and human-creative side of the conversation. From Stanford’s work on data-driven accountability journalism to insights from leading media organisations experimenting with AI-enhanced storytelling, participants will see the tension — and opportunity — between automation and human judgment.

Each day concludes with structured debriefs to connect insights and surface practical takeaways, ensuring the tour’s ideas feed directly into publishers’ strategies.

As Hopperton put it, “We’re not just touring offices; we’re mapping the future of our industry.”

The conference: where innovation meets strategy

After three days in the field, attention turns to the Media Tech & AI Conference, hosted at KQED’s headquarters in San Francisco. The two-day event serves as the analytical counterpart to the study tour — turning what participants have seen into frameworks for action.

Each day carries a distinct theme:

• Day one: AI is changing everything — here’s what you need to know.

• Day two: optimising media products — from strategy to execution.

The conference gathers an impressive line-up of voices from across the technology and news ecosystem — from investors and academics to engineers and editors. It is designed not as a parade of presentations but as a working forum for decision-makers navigating unprecedented change.

Understanding the economics of AI

The conference opens with a clear message: The impact of AI is as much economic as it is technological. Venture leaders and analysts will break down how AI is redistributing value in the information chain — and what that means for publishers seeking sustainable business models.

Participants can expect candid debate around the long-term economics of data, the risks of giving away intellectual property too cheaply, and the emerging licensing models that could rebalance the relationship between creators and platforms.

Innovation lessons beyond media

Speakers from industries outside journalism will offer examples of radical reinvention — from customer experience to product design — urging news executives to challenge long-held assumptions about how value is created and captured.

The evolving search landscape

Search, long the lifeblood of digital traffic, is undergoing its most profound change since its inception. Sessions featuring both incumbents and challengers will examine how AI-driven interfaces are rewriting discovery, what conversational search means for referrals, and how publishers can future-proof their visibility.

The debate will extend beyond Google’s role to include emerging players using generative models to build ad-free, personalised, or voice-based experiences. For media executives, the implication is clear: distribution strategies must adapt to new, non-traditional entry points for news.

Rewriting the rules of compensation and rights

The conference will also explore how the economics of content are being reconstructed. Platforms are beginning to pay for licensed data, startups are building machine-readable protocols for AI rights, and policymakers are taking note.

Sessions on new content marketplaces and collective licensing frameworks will help news companies understand how to position themselves within this new ecosystem — not as passive data sources but as active participants in shaping the rules.

From data to storytelling

If the first day establishes the “why,” the second focuses on the “how.” The agenda shifts to practical execution: data strategies, product optimisation, and organisational transformation.

Publishers with mature AI programmes will share what’s working — from infrastructure to experimentation. Expect insights on how to structure cross-functional teams, how to embed AI responsibly in editorial workflows, and how to measure tangible impact.

AI’s role in expanding content formats — from text to audio, video, and multimodal experiences — will be another focal point. Sessions on voice technology and AI-driven video innovation will show how storytelling is evolving in an era of intelligent interfaces.

Agentic AI, automation, and efficiency

The second day also delves into the emerging field of agentic AI — systems that can act autonomously on behalf of users or organisations. For news publishers, this could mean automated distribution, dynamic pricing, or personalised commerce. These developments are redefining both engagement and monetisation opportunities.

Complementing that vision are sessions on AI-driven efficiency — demonstrating how automation can relieve pressure on lean teams by simplifying workflows, improving targeting, and unlocking creativity through time saved.

The human dimension: skills, structure, and trust

As AI reshapes work itself, speakers will tackle what that means for people and organisations. Which roles will grow, which will fade, and which skills must be prioritised? How can leaders build cultures of innovation without eroding journalistic integrity?

Trust remains a consistent thread throughout the week — not only trust in news, but trust in the systems that now mediate it. Experts in cybersecurity and governance will spotlight the vulnerabilities AI introduces, from deepfakes to data misuse, and offer frameworks for responsible oversight.

Bringing Silicon Valley to the newsroom

While the agendas of the study tour and conference differ, they share a single purpose: to bridge the distance between technology creators and news practitioners.

The study tour provides context — seeing where and how innovation happens. The conference provides strategy — translating those insights into business and editorial transformation.

Together, they capture the dual challenge facing every media company today: adapting to the speed of technological change while defending the enduring values of journalism.

In the words of one returning participant from last year’s INMA event: “It’s like stepping into the future, then walking out with a map for how to get there.”

Themes that will define the week

Several key themes run through the entire programme:

• AI as infrastructure, not a tool. The week will reinforce the view that AI is the next computing layer — affecting everything from editorial production to advertising operations.

• Data as a competitive edge. Structured, governed, and ethically managed data will be presented as the foundation for any meaningful AI strategy.

• Evolving discovery and distribution. As answer engines, chatbots, and platforms like LinkedIn reshape audience pathways, publishers must diversify where and how they reach readers.

• Fair value and licensing. New commercial frameworks will emerge to ensure that as publishers’ content powers AI systems, they are recognised and compensated.

• Human creativity and collaboration. Despite automation’s rise, innovation in storytelling — games, audio, video, and design — will highlight that human imagination remains central.

• Ethics and transparency. Both tech companies and publishers will emphasise responsible deployment, from algorithmic bias to content provenance.

These recurring themes ensure the week isn’t simply about technology but about transformation with purpose.

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