Personal Biography

I am the Research Fellow in AI and News at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in the of Department of Politics and International Relations and a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). My research broadly looks at the implications of a changing news and information environment for democratic discourse and the functioning of democracy, with a focus on the role of artificial intelligence. Since 2019, my research has focused on various aspects of AI in news and the public sphere, with a special emphasis on its use and reception, the shifting power dynamics between the news and the technology sector, and AI’s role in misinformation and democracy. My research and commentary on these topics frequently appears in international media, among others, in The New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, and the Financial Times and as a regular columnist for Nikkei. I also frequently advise media organisations and technology companies on AI and news. In May 2023, I was awarded the Hans Bausch Media Prize by German public broadcaster SWR in cooperation with the Institute for Media Studies at the University of Tübingen for my work on AI and news. 

I hold a DPhil and MSc from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and a BA in Film and Media Studies from Goethe-University Frankfurt. I am affiliated with Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the Public Tech Media Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am also a fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar and sit on the Advisory Committee of the Center for News, Technology & Innovation.

Research

I am best described as a communication scientist drawing from approaches in political science, sociology, and media studies. My empirical and conceptual research broadly looks at the implications of a changing news and information environment for democratic discourse and the functioning of democracy. My first major area of interest within this is how artificial intelligence reshapes the mechanisms of information and news production and distribution, and with what effects for (news) publishers, audiences, and the structure of the information environment. I am particularly curious how AI systems and their use (e.g. on their own, but also on platforms, in search, or by news organisations) shape public and political discourse and informedness. A second major area is what I term the developing political economy of AI and news: the role (major) technology companies play in the development, deployment, and provision of AI on communication infrastructures, including for the purposes covered by point 1. As of late, and tying the above together, I have become increasingly interested in the role AI – and AI in communication and news – plays for democracy. A focus here has been on the effects of generative AI on misinformation. 

Selected Publications

Simon, F. M. (2025). Rationalisation of the News: How AI Reshapes the Gatekeeping Processes of News Organisations in the UK, US, and Germany. New Media & Society, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251336423

Simon, F. M., & Altay, S. (2025). Don’t panic (yet): Assessing the evidence and discourse around generative AI and elections. Knight First Amendment Institute. https://knightcolumbia.org/content/dont-panic-yet-assessing-the-evidence-and-discourse-around-generative-ai-and-elections

Simon, F. M. (2023). Escape Me If You Can. How AI Reshapes News Organisations’ Dependency on Platform Companies. Digital Journalism, 12(2), 149-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2287464. (Winner of the Digital Journalism 2024 Outstanding Article of the Year Award, Longlisted for the Bob Franklin Journal Article Award 2024-25)

Simon, F. M. (2022). Uneasy Bedfellows? AI in the News, Platform Companies, and the Issue of Journalistic Autonomy. Digital Journalism, 10(10), 1832–1854. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2063150. (Winner of the Hans Bausch Media Prize 2023, Longlisted for the Bob Franklin Journal Article Award 2022-23)

A full list of publications can be found here: https://www.felixsimon.net/publications.html