I’ve never really understood bitcoin. I tried. Kind of. But the news around it and its potential role in journalism felt fast, the promises big and the fails bigger. 

In a 21-year career, I’ve worked hard to understand the forces, and trends, shaping our industry. Sometimes I dive in and start testing. Sometimes I wait for smarter people to help it make sense. 

And sometimes, I try to do a bit of both. That’s where I am right now with artificial intelligence. I’ve reported on it and its potential and perils for years. I know what I know. And there’s a lot I don’t know. 

When Poynter launched the Level Up program two years ago, we envisioned it as a virtual experience that would help overworked, underresourced journalists build the skills they need to continue advancing in their careers. For two years, we focused on investigative journalism, storytelling and more. 

And this year, as it came time to plan again, I realized I was feeling about AI the way I’d once felt about bitcoin — interested, confused, mildly concerned, and too busy to stop and untangle all those things. I didn’t want to wait for smarter people to help it make sense, I wanted to grab those people, talk with them, and sit by their sides as they showed me why I should be taking AI seriously and what I might do with it in my work. 

Luckily, I work with and know some very smart people who’ve devoted themselves to understanding the landscape of AI, to building processes for new ethics and standards, to researching how it’s being used across the industry, to fact-checking it and to using some of the free tools that are out there. 

So this year, Level Up is devoted to getting real about artificial intelligence. We meet Tuesdays in October. We’ll be joined by a handful of people who will help it make sense, and we’ll have time to get in the sandbox and play with some tools. 

You can learn more here.

While you’re here:

• Read Inside Higher Ed on the growing movement of student journalists working to bring more journalism to news deserts.

• Sign up for Will Work for Impact, a five-week seminar designed to help budding investigative journalists. 

• Read my colleague Amaris Castillo with reflections from the journalists who covered the Gabby Giffords shooting.

• And as the publication of my new book on Florida’s historic and beloved hotels, motels and inns creeps closer, check out the gorgeous old images and postcards I’m sharing on Instagram.

That’s it for me. We’ve reached that point in the summer where my children are counting down the days until school starts with dread and I’m counting them down with hope and longing. 😎

Kristen