Million grant for AI in Danish media: “A chance to gather editorial teams across the country and become smarter together”

While AI is making its way into everyday editorial work, many media outlets have yet to find a systematic way to work with the technology. A new million-dollar grant from the Google News Initiative aims to change that. The Center for AI at DMJX and the Institute for Futures Research have received USD 650,000 (DKK 4.2 million) for a two-year program to help Danish media experiment, share experiences and develop new AI-driven ways of working. DMJX announces this on its website.

The program will be implemented in 2026 and 2027 in close collaboration with 8-10 media outlets and aims to both create concrete solutions for everyday use and establish a common language of future-driven innovation in the industry.

An innovation manual for the future of media

At the Center for AI at DMJX in Aarhus, enthusiasm is high. Project manager Peder Hammerskov emphasizes that the grant is not about competition between media, but about joint progress.

“This is not about someone catching up with others. It’s about doing something together. We now have a unique opportunity to bring together editorial teams across the country and learn together. The project will be a large open workshop where journalists, developers and editors can test ideas, learn from each other and build solutions that provide real value in everyday life. This is the kind of collaboration that strengthens the entire industry,” he says.

The Institute for Futures Studies will develop the program’s innovation manual, which will give the media methods to work systematically with both new formats and long-term scenarios. The manual will be anchored in the Institute’s H3 AI Lab.

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“The media is in a time where technologies, user behavior and journalistic roles are changing. This makes it necessary to not only improve what we have, but also to prepare for the possible futures where the framework for journalistic and public responsibility may look completely different. With the innovation manual, we want to give the industry a solid and freely available foundation for future-driven innovation, so that the media are better equipped to think further ahead and act more courageously in the face of a rapidly evolving media landscape,” says Sofie Hvitved, futurist and Director of Media Futures and Innovation.

Without the influence of Google

Google sees the grant as an investment in the sustainability of the media industry, both journalistically and commercially.

“This is a crucial time for the news industry. Therefore, it is also very important to develop strong and innovative business models that can equip the media industry for the future and support editors so that journalists can ultimately deliver the best work. We are very happy to support DMJX and the Institute for Futures Studies in driving this initiative for the benefit of the entire Danish news ecosystem,” says Dimitra Letsa, Google’s Head of News Partnerships in the Nordics.

Although the funding comes from the Google News Initiative, the parties emphasize that the project is run independently and without influence from Google. The program will develop a set of practical tools and resources that will be publicly available to the entire industry.

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It includes an AI Readiness Scorecard, an Ethics Toolkit, a playbook with methods and a comprehensive resource library from the entire program. The goal is to ensure that Danish media can both experiment in the short term and work strategically with future potentials and challenges.