Purpose

This policy sets out how artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used across our editorial and publishing operations. Our aim is to harness AI responsibly to support journalism, reader engagement, efficiency and innovation – while maintaining trust, accuracy, transparency and editorial independence.

This policy supplements Conexus Financial’s company-wide AI policy and provides additional guidance specific to editorial operations i.e. use by professional journalists employed by the company or the production of journalistic materials by it.

AI tools are assistive technologies. Editorial judgement, accountability and final decision-making always rests with our editorial team, which is staffed by full-time and contributing professional human journalists and editors, who adhere to ethical press practices.

Core Principles

Our use of AI is governed by the following principles:

Human oversight – All AI-assisted content must be reviewed, verified and approved by a qualified editor before publication.

Editorial integrity – AI use must comply with our existing editorial standards, including accuracy, fairness, balance, independence and transparency.

Accountability – AI tools cannot be responsible for published content. Editors and publishers remain fully accountable for what we publish.

Transparency – We will disclose meaningful use of AI in content creation where relevant to audience trust.

Privacy and security – Confidential, unpublished, personal or commercially sensitive information must not be entered into non-approved AI tools.

General Use Guidelines

AI tools should enhance—not replace—human judgement, creativity and relationship-building. All staff should be aware that:

  • AI is an assistive tool and does not replace critical thinking or professional expertise
  • All AI outputs must be reviewed and verified before use—AI can “hallucinate” by fabricating facts, sources, or connections that don’t exist
  • AI-generated content cannot be sent externally or published without human oversight and verification
  • As a media and events company, Conexus Financial relies on the depth of personal relationships and quality of communications. Over-reliance on AI for written materials risks de-humanising communication and may damage stakeholder relationships

Acceptable Uses of AI

AI tools may be used to support editorial work in the following ways, subject to human review:

  • Idea generation and brainstorming (as a starting point, not a replacement for critical thinking)
  • Background research and summarisation of public information
  • Transcription of interviews or events
  • Copy editing, grammar and clarity suggestions
  • Content tagging, categorisation and metadata
  • Data analysis and pattern identification
  • Translation or localisation (with verification)
  • Draft outlines or structural suggestions

AI outputs should always be treated as unverified material, similar to a tip or secondary source.

Prohibited Uses of AI

AI tools must not be used to:

  • Write or compose slabs of written publishable text
  • Publish or edit content without human editorial review
  • Fabricate quotes, sources, data or interviews
  • Alter the meaning of a speaker’s words
  • Generate original reporting presented as fact without verification
  • Impersonate individuals or simulate expert opinion
  • Upload embargoed, confidential or proprietary material into non-approved AI systems
  • Generate branded or sponsored content without editorial oversight and disclosure
  • Replace human judgement, relationship-building, or critical editorial thinking

Transparency and Disclosure

When AI has made a material contribution to published content, we will disclose this clearly to audiences.

Examples of acceptable disclosures include:

  • “This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and reviewed by our editorial team”

We will also as best as possible disclose limitations and flaws in the relevant technology.

More minor or general uses (such as spell-checking, research or transcription) do not require disclosure.

Branded Content and Commercial Work

AI may be used in the production of sponsored or branded editorial content only when:

  • Editorial control remains with our publishing team, alongside client approvals
  • Outputs meet the same standards as editorial content
  • All commercial disclosures remain clear and compliant

AI must not be used to misrepresent sponsorship, endorsement or editorial independence.

Data and Confidentiality

  • Confidential information, unpublished stories, proprietary data, or personal information about sources, clients or colleagues must not be entered into non-approved AI tools.
  • Conexus Financial’s approved AI tools for editorial use are:
    • Claude Enterprise (Conexus instance)
    • Otter.ai
  • These tools have been reviewed and approved for use with appropriate data protections in place
  • Do not use public or non-approved AI tools (such as free ChatGPT, Gemini, or other services) for work containing sensitive information

Training and Governance

  • Approved tools and use cases will be reviewed regularly
  • Incidents of inappropriate AI use in editorial processes will be disclosed to readers if discovered
  • This policy will be updated as AI capabilities, regulation and industry standards evolve