Google has revealed that it is in the early stages of developing artificial intelligence tools to assist journalists in writing stories and headlines. The company has discussed its ideas with leaders in the news industry, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and News Corp.
While this rapidly-evolving technology has the potential to enhance productivity for journalists, it has also raised concerns about its reliability in providing accurate reports. Some worry that it could lead to job losses for human journalists in an industry already facing financial challenges.
Google clarified that its AI-enhanced tools are not intended to replace the crucial role journalists play in reporting, creating, and fact-checking articles. Instead, they aim to offer options for headlines and writing styles during story development.
The Associated Press (AP) has been using a simpler form of AI in some of its work for about a decade, automating tasks like creating stories on routine sports results and corporate earnings. However, there are debates about the fair compensation of news organizations and other professions for their published works, which are used to improve AI systems like large language models.
Building AI systems that produce human-like writing requires large datasets, including news articles and books. While not all companies disclose the sources of their data, last week, AP and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI announced a deal for OpenAI to license AP’s archive of news stories dating back to 1985.
Chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are part of generative AI tools that can mimic different writing styles, but they are also prone to generating falsehoods, posing risks for applications like news reporting or medical advice.
Some experts see potential benefits for the technology, such as documenting public meetings when human journalists are unavailable. However, there are concerns that AI progress might outpace the development of sustainable business models to support local news, leading to potential job replacement.
Journalists’ unions, like the News Media Guild for The Associated Press, are closely monitoring these developments, seeking to protect jobs and journalistic standards. While routine stories can be effectively generated by AI, more complex stories may require human journalists’ insights and context.
Experts suggest that journalists should explore other uses of AI, such as data journalism and multi-language production, rather than solely focusing on its writing capabilities. Nonetheless, they also acknowledge the need for news organizations to be cautious about potential errors that could damage their reputation.
Journalism organizations face a critical moment in balancing the advantages of technology with protecting their interests. The threat posed by AI is a new challenge that demands careful consideration, as there might be no turning back from its integration into the industry.
