Pulitzer Center Update November 19, 2025
Pulitzer Center Releases AI Spotlight Open Curriculum
The Pulitzer Center is thrilled to announce the public release of the AI Spotlight Series, a comprehensive open curriculum designed to support journalists around the world in reporting on artificial intelligence with nuance and impact.
Developed in collaboration with leading journalists and media partners, the AI Spotlight Series builds on two years of training workshops that have reached nearly 3,000 reporters and editors worldwide in seven languages. The open curriculum includes 14 modules across three tracks, offering practical tools, case studies, and frameworks for investigating AI systems across any beat—from health and education to labor, governance, and the environment.
Led by award-winning journalist Karen Hao and a star team of coaches, the course is designed to give reporters and editors a strong foundation in what AI is and how it works as well as the tools to identify critical stories that will highlight the technology’s impacts, hold companies and governments accountable, and drive policy and community change, while avoiding both hype and unnecessary alarmism.
"Only a few years ago, AI accountability reporting didn't yet exist as a cohesive field. Now, under Pulitzer Center's visionary leadership and investments, that global community of journalists grows larger by the day. We've seen how much the AI Spotlight Series has built on that momentum, and I'm so excited to see our open-source curriculum strengthen this vital ecosystem even more,” said Hao.
The release of the AI Spotlight Series curriculum reflects the Pulitzer Center’s commitment to supporting rigorous, independent reporting on emerging technologies and their societal consequences. As interest in AI grows across newsrooms, the open curriculum offers flexible resources that can be used in self-guided learning, newsroom training, or classrooms.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the people adapt and extend this curriculum. We know that holding AI accountable requires interdisciplinary collaboration, and we hope Hao's framework and the case studies in the series help journalists, researchers, academics and civil society with their work in their communities," said Pulitzer Center AI Editor Joanna Kao.
The full curriculum is now available for free on the Pulitzer Center website. Portuguese and Spanish resources will be released later this year, with plans to also translate into French and bahasa Indonesia in 2026. We are publishing the curriculum under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, so we also encourage journalists, editors, and students to use, adapt, and build on these materials to advance AI accountability reporting worldwide.
The AI Spotlight Series is made possible by the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab, the Ford Foundation, and individual donors and foundations who support our work more broadly. Read our terms of use and privacy policy.
Questions or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
About the Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center champions the power of stories to make complex issues relevant and inspire action. Our AI Accountability Network supports journalists in reporting on artificial intelligence and its far-reaching impacts. To date, the Center has trained nearly 3,000 journalists on AI accountability reporting through the AI Spotlight Series curriculum.