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Clarus News – Architecture at a glance

A scalable, sovereign, and AI-powered media platform

Executive Summary

Clarus News is a modular, AI-assisted news and analysis platform that combines editorial quality with automation. The architecture has been designed to remain scalable, adaptable, and vendor-independent – particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.

The core idea: AI is a tool – not the owner of content or processes.

Architecture principles (What sets us apart)

1. Clear separation of responsibilities

The platform follows a clean separation between:

  • Editorial & business logic
  • AI-powered support
  • Data storage & search

This ensures editorial control always remains with the operator – not with the model.

2. Multi-model strategy instead of AI monoculture

Clarus News deliberately doesn't rely on a single AI model. Depending on the task, different models are deployed:

  • fast, cost-effective models for routine tasks
  • powerful models for analysis, research, and complex texts
  • on request, private models for sensitive content

Result: cost control, quality management, and technological independence.

3. MCP – Controlled AI integration

AI integration is done via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This means:

  • AI only receives explicitly authorized context
  • System actions (e.g., database changes) are clearly separated from AI reasoning
  • Workflows are reproducible, auditable, and configurable

👉 Particularly relevant for governance, compliance, and data protection.

4. Data stays in the system

The platform uses PostgreSQL as its central data backbone:

  • Content
  • Metadata
  • Search indexes
  • Crawler results

Full-text search is directly integrated into the database. No external search infrastructure, no dependencies.

Technical structure (simplified)

Web application

Server-side rendered, fast, SEO-friendly

→ Presentation, navigation, editorial interface

Automated content pipeline

Background processes for:

  • Research & crawling
  • Text processing
  • Translation & metadata
  • AI-powered analysis

AI layer (MCP)

Unified control of external and internal AI models

Database & search

Centralized, performant, and controllable data storage

Clarus News – Technical overview & architecture

Overview

Clarus News is a multilingual, modular news and analysis platform with integrated editorial curation logic and AI-assisted content creation.

Core components

  • ASP.NET (.NET) web app (Razor Views)
  • PostgreSQL with full-text search (tsvector)
  • CLI-based content pipeline (crawler & prompt jobs)
  • LLM integration via the Model Context Protocol (MCP)

MCP & private LLMs

With MCP, you can connect both external LLM providers and private, self-hosted models. This enables maximum control over data, cost, and compliance.

Benefits

  • Scalable content creation
  • Multilingual support (DE / FR / EN)
  • Technological sovereignty

Strategic advantages for decision-makers

✅ Cost control

  • AI deployment where it brings real value
  • Models interchangeable based on budget & requirements

✅ Independence

  • No lock-in with individual AI providers
  • Option for private LLM operation (on-premise / private cloud)

✅ Scalability

  • More content ≠ linearly more staff
  • Automation relieves the editorial team, doesn't replace it

✅ Governance & trust

  • Clear rules, reproducible processes
  • AI as assistance, not as an uncontrolled black box

In short

Clarus News is not an experimental AI playground, but a productive media platform with:

  • controlled AI integration
  • long-term technological sovereignty
  • clear editorial responsibility

The architecture is designed to remain viable in five years – regardless of which AI model is currently "state of the art."