From Principles to Practice: Building Open Publishing Platforms for Responsible AI Adoption (By invite only)

Media organizations are facing rapid AI disruption, creating both new opportunities and serious challenges around trust, transparency, and control. As newsrooms explore how AI can support research, workflows, and audience engagement, many are realizing that success depends less on individual tools and more on the strength and openness of their publishing platforms.

In this lunch session, WordPress VIP and ProPublica explore how core principles like openness, governance, human oversight, and first-party data ownership have shaped ProPublica’s publishing technology decisions – and how these same principles are creating a solid foundation for responsible AI adoption. Rather than relying on black-box solutions, open platforms enable newsrooms to evolve their use of AI on their own terms, while maintaining editorial integrity, security, and institutional knowledge.

The discussion will highlight how building flexible, connected publishing systems today helps organizations turn AI disruption into long-term opportunity without compromising trust.

Key topics covered:

• How principles like transparency, human oversight, and governance shaped ProPublica’s platform strategy


• Why open, flexible publishing platforms are critical for adapting to AI-driven change


• Avoiding vendor lock-in while preparing for emerging AI capabilities


• The importance of first-party data ownership and connected systems in responsible AI use


• Building AI-ready infrastructure that protects trust, context, and institutional knowledge