Al Jazeera unveils ‘The Core’ AI-driven newsroom model on Google Cloud

Al Jazeera Media Network announced the launch of “The Core,” a new operational model for news production that incorporates generative artificial intelligence and agentic systems developed by Google Cloud.

The project is part of an expanded strategic collaboration between Al Jazeera and Google Cloud, which will serve as the network’s primary technology provider for the initiative.

According to the network, the goal of “The Core” is to embed AI into every stage of the news production process, shifting its function from a passive tool to an active collaborator alongside journalists.

In a statement, Sheikh Nasser bin Faisal Al Thani, director general of Al Jazeera Media Network, said the initiative reflects a commitment to building a global technological ecosystem and maintaining agility and accuracy in its reporting.

“‘The Core’ is the embodiment of this vision — an integrated model where human expertise and artificial intelligence work in tandem to modernize journalism,” Al Thani said. “Google Cloud’s proven expertise in AI make it the ideal partner to help us execute this ambitious transformation.”

Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise and agentic AI tools will be deployed across Al Jazeera’s global news operations. Alex Rutter, managing director for AI in the EMEA region at Google Cloud, said the partnership aims to reshape both news production and consumption.

“Al Jazeera’s decision to build its new ‘Core’ journalism platform leveraging Google Cloud Solutions is a pivotal step in developing the next generation of intelligent media,” Rutter said.

“The Core” is described by the network as a cognitive operating model composed of six interdependent pillars:

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• AJ Now: A central news platform using Vertex AI Search and Gemini Enterprise to suggest questions, generate angles and draft summaries.
• AJ-LLM: An editorial system built on a fine-tuned large language model based on Al Jazeera archives, used for summarization, translation and real-time analysis.
• AJ Vision: A production platform utilizing Google generative AI tools such as Imagen and Veo to create visual content.
• AJ Data Lake: A data analysis platform using BigQuery and Gemini Data Agents to surface trends and generate dashboards.
• The Ops Engine: A workflow and communications platform automated through Gemini for Workspace.
• The Academic and Knowledge Arm: A training program using Gemini Enterprise and Google Workspace to instruct journalists on AI toolsets.

Ahmad Al-Fahad, executive director of technology and network operations at Al Jazeera, said the initiative supports the organization’s ongoing efforts to incorporate emerging technologies across its platforms.

Ghassan Kosta, Google Cloud’s regional general manager for Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Iraq, said the collaboration represents a shift in media operations. “We are proud to provide the secure, planet-scale infrastructure and agentic AI necessary to power this next generation of journalism,” Kosta said.