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Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

nytimes.com

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Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#101

Post by notatoad »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #7

I’d love to hear somebody try to explain how this won’t negatively impact the labor market for journalists. My guess is that the argument will be that the “tools will simply help augment rather than replace the writer.” We know, however, that some small segment of implementations will actually in fact, cause someone to be fired or replaced, and things will get slightly worse for the consumer. An alternative explanati…

>well The writing wasn’t very good anyway, it was all a regurgitation of the same thing over and over anyways

well, yes. you clearly understand the problem, but stating it dismissively doesn't refute it.

paying people to do minimal rewrites of press releases or wire service articles is not productive work. at all. people would be better served by reading the original source.

a job that requires no skill and provides no benefit isn't really a job, it's just a selectively-applied welfare program, disproportionately provided to the people with the best connections. putting a stop to those sorts of "jobs" is not a bad thing.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#102

Post by JohnFen »

polski-g wrote: post #81
JohnFen wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How many humans do you want employed as butter churners? I think that's the wrong question. The better question is how can be ensure that people aren't just out of work and can still be able to afford to live?

They shouldn't. They should go work in a different industry. The butter churners didn't just die, they became professionals doing something else.

> They should go work in a different industry.

This is more problematic than it seems, though. What if there isn't enough work in other industries to absorb the people? If AI works out as proponents want, this seems likely because lots of jobs, across a wide swath of industries, will be eliminated.

There's also the issue that not everyone is suited for every kind of job.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#103

Post by consumer451 »

Philorandroid wrote: post #18

Soon, journalists the world over will be in contest with a purpose-built machine for the fakest and least-grounded (but most-believable-sounding) content.

> a purpose-built machine for the fakest and least-grounded (but most-believable-sounding) content

truthiness.ai

edit: wow, it's actually registered.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#104

Post by pixl97 »

davidguetta wrote: post #44
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That doesn't matter in the end. Doesn't matter to who? I'm pretty sure it matters a lot to people working in a newsroom

Sure but once again so what ? Change is part of life

So is extinction, but I'd rather put that off till some time long after I'm gone.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#106

Post by JimtheCoder »

notatoad wrote: post #101
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #7

I’d love to hear somebody try to explain how this won’t negatively impact the labor market for journalists. My guess is that the argument will be that the “tools will simply help augment rather than replace the writer.” We know, however, that some small segment of implementations will actually in fact, cause someone to be fired or replaced, and things will get slightly worse for the consumer. An alternative explanati…

>well The writing wasn’t very good anyway, it was all a regurgitation of the same thing over and over anyways well, yes. you clearly understand the problem, but stating it dismissively doesn't refute it. paying people to do minimal rewrites of press releases or wire service articles is not productive work. at all. people would be better served by reading the original source. a job that requires no skill and provides…

" it's just a selectively-applied welfare program, disproportionately provided to the people with the best connections. putting a stop to those sorts of "jobs" is not a bad thing."

As long as you have somewhere else to put them...or else they will go on another type of welfare program where they don't have to do any work.

That is the issue here...

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#107

Post by leet_thow »

hnburnsy wrote: post #89

Here is the template to write a news article... State some facts as reported by others (never link to supporting documents only summarize them) Quote from expert or eyewitness on why this is important Quote from other expert why this might not be important (optional as this might make the story not truly news worthy) State that confusing aspects of the story are "unclear" Fill the rest of the story from articles on t…

Also, never forget to mention at least once, advocates, activists, experts and lawmakers.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#108

Post by dogman144 »

There are interesting angles to this. Newsrooms started shifting journalists over to contractors a while back because of risk from libel lawsuits, even if defendable. Gawker and Peter Thiel started this trend.

This contractor shift paired with the revenue pressure from the internet’s impact has made journalism a real tough industry.

I wonder how LLMs writing news would impact the contractor/libel situation. I could see it freeing up resources to then pay w2 journalists worth protecting for bigger stories. Or maybe LLMs writing the controversial stories and seeing who gets sued in that situation.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#109

Post by atlantic »

holoduke wrote: post #55
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #7

I’d love to hear somebody try to explain how this won’t negatively impact the labor market for journalists. My guess is that the argument will be that the “tools will simply help augment rather than replace the writer.” We know, however, that some small segment of implementations will actually in fact, cause someone to be fired or replaced, and things will get slightly worse for the consumer. An alternative explanati…

Good journalism is also a formvof activism. Not sure if that exists in AI writers.

You mean, bad journalism is a form of activism. Good journalism aims at objectivity, and allows readers to form their own opinions.

Re: Google tests A.I. tool that is able to write news articles

#110

Post by anigbrowl »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #72
anigbrowl wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you’re doing someone else’s labor I'm doing my own labor. Personally I often don't want to have conversations while doing my grocery shopping, especially not the fake corporate kind. Having to have such conversations as an employee of a supermarket was a very unpleasant experience, lacking in dignity. You make a lot of good points, but others are extremely half baked.

Nothing half baked about it I have regular ongoing relationships with the employees at the Giant (Grocery store) near my house and know their names and who they are as people and they know me and my kids and it's great. To the extent where together, myself, Sandi (Night Manager), the Asst Manager and some of the staff all worked together to help get a wonderful man back on his feet that was struggling and begging and…

You are assuming your interactions set the standard for everyone else. A story about how you helped someone is a nice anecdote, but it's not a good basis for extrapolation as you've been doing. I help people too, it does not follow that everyone can or should do things the way I do.

The specifically half-baked thing is the idea that by doing something for yourself you're stealing someone else's labor opportunity. I bag my own groceries (at any checkout, self-serve or not), for 3 reasons: I want it done in a particular way, I don't like being waited on in general, and I get exercise from humping a heavy bag of groceries home in a backpack.

By your logic I'm forcing the bagging assistant to move to another register and depriving autoworkers of their economic future. Your heart is definitely in the right place, but I don't want to be part of your church.

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