Report: Google Building AI Tool for Journalists
Google is reportedly testing a product – known internally as Genesis – that can use artificial intelligence (AI) to produce news stories, and the company has pitched it to several news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal owner NewsCorp.
Facts
- Google is reportedly testing a product – known internally as Genesis – that can use artificial intelligence (AI) to produce news stories, and the company has pitched it to several news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal owner NewsCorp.1
- A Google spokesperson said the technology is in its early stages, but it could be used as a tool that “enhances” reporters’ “work and productivity” but won’t “replace the essential role” of journalists.2
- This comes as the media industry has endured a global downturn, as a collapse in print advertising revenues has contributed to several rounds of layoffs, with US newsrooms eliminating 17,436 jobs in the first five months of 2023.3
- Previously, the Associated Press agreed to allow Open AI, the maker of ChatGPT, to use the news agency’s stories archive to train its AI models.4
- AI is also becoming part of other professions, and its use is a major sticking point in current labor disputes that have led to strikes by the Hollywood actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, and the Writer’s Guild of America.5
Sources: 1New York Times, 2Reuters, 3Al Jazeera, 4Guardian, and 5NBC.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Sun Sentinel. You can’t stop progress. Many news organizations have already started using AI in their content creation or they’ve begun considering how best to integrate AI into their newsrooms. Rather than looking at Genesis as a threat, journalists should look at it as Google responsibly developing a tool that will enhance their work and make them more productive.
- Narrative B, as provided by Washington Post. AI must be kept out of the newsroom. Time and again, the technology has proven it can’t be trusted to produce factual reports the way human journalists can. Not only should media outlets be leery of Genesis’ accuracy but also Google’s intentions, considering its history of harvesting intellectual property for its financial gain at the expense of content providers.
