How can we help media companies exploit the benefits of artificial intelligence whilst maintaining control over their content, data and editorial processes? This question was at the heart of the meeting between Marc Glesener, Chair of the ALIA Board of Directors, and Dr Thorsten Schmiege, President of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM), on 22 October 2026, during the 40th edition of Medientage München.
Established in June 2025, the KI-Kompetenzzentrum Medien (KI.M) is a joint initiative of the BLM and its subsidiary, Medien.Bayern GmbH. It supports Bavarian media companies in integrating AI. Through this initiative, the BLM aims to provide them with the guidance and support needed to assess the applications of these technologies and develop solutions tailored to their needs, combining technical expertise, legal analysis and ethical consideration.
Within KI.M, the ‘KI-Reallabor’ experimental laboratory develops prototypes that address needs shared by media companies. The publication of the open-source code, accompanied by documentation and evaluations, enables other stakeholders to adapt these tools to their own purposes and integrate them into their infrastructure. This approach aims to share development efforts and ensure the entire sector benefits from them, explained Jim Sengl, head of the KI.M coordination unit at the BLM.
Dr Thorsten Schmiege highlighted the value of combining innovation and regulation right from the design stage of the tools. This early involvement enables regulators to deepen their understanding of the technologies they are called upon to regulate and to anticipate the legal issues that their use might raise.
Marc Glesener emphasised that the relevance of using AI for a media company depends as much on the expected added value as on its ability to mobilise the skills, infrastructure and resources necessary for its deployment. The transition from prototype to integration into the media company’s operations is, in this respect, a crucial step.
ALIA would like to thank Dr Thorsten Schmiege and his teams for their time and the fruitful discussions.
