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The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

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Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#21
Clickbait title for a decent write-up. The author left Hawaii, and as indicated in the article the local press resorted to AI presenters because it was hard to keep talent on board. This is not a "job replacement" story so much as a "backup plan" story in my opinion.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#22
post #3

Incredibly, no videos linked in an article about a video newscast. I think this is an example. The AI doesn't even pronounce "AI" correctly. Interestingly, it looks slightly offscreen just the way real newsreaders do when they're on prompter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa7Q2S7VWUk They do a lot right. There's interaction between the bots. They look kind of professional but not Los Angeles/New York quality, which…

Love this so much, not in the way intended. Its just so strange! I can't put my finger on it, but feels like something Tim and Eric, or Tim Robinson, or even Alan Resnick would have a hand in. There is a kind of aesthetic immanence to whole thing, everything is right on the surface. The voices are only just embodied "enough," their unearned confidence, their "affectations." The deadpan delivery on an absurd stage. Th…

Yeah I can see all of it, but the problem with me is that I bet I would have watched it a few seconds and clicked off out of boredom, never suspecting they were AI. I really want to claim I would have figured it out instantly, but I can't. If I were a regular consumer I think I'd notice.

They mention right up front they're "powered by AI" but to me that implies they had help with article writing. I would not immediately assume from that statement that the actual newsreaders themselves were AI.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#24
post #17
post #7

Give it time y'all. This is the first inning, and I'm already terrified. I encourage you to have a conversation with ChatGPT's advanced audio for a taste of what's to come. If you can, have someone talk to it in a relatively unpopular language like Afrikaans or even Icelandic--they will shit their pants.

Terrified of what? and First inning of what, when did that inning start?

[deleted]

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#25
post #5

Slightly tangential, but this is the reason I'm baffled why people think that AI-driven podcasts would ever be worth listening to. If you can find an LLM+TTS generated podcast with even a FRACTION of the infectious energy as something like Good Job Brain, Radio Lab, or Ask Me Another, then I'll eat my hat. I don't even own one. I'll drive to the nearest hat store, purchase the tallest stovetop hat that I can afford a…

People think they want to use the Minority Report computer interface because it looks cool and advanced but they don't put the least amount of thought into it and realize it's terribly impractical. Our arms would get tired very quickly. A mouse resting on a table isn't further from ideal just because it was invented earlier.

Fooling people with the promises of AI is pretty simple. People are easy to fool. They like shiny objects.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#26
post #16
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newscast teleprompters are directly in front of the camera lens specifically to not have them looking away from the lens. This has been a solved technology for decades. Perhaps you're thinking of cue cards or the teleprompters speakers use in a speech live audience type of setting?

Well you got me. I haven't watched broadcast TV for decades. I do see that phenomenon a lot with vloggers at present. Am I also incorrect that they appear not to be looking directly at the camera? Looking back after your comment I still think it feels like they aren't.

The AI characters? Nothing about them feels right. The audio looks out of sync with the fake lip flaps. The dude's arm gestures are horrendous. It's AI/cgi, yet the fake background looks like a bad chromakey. You already pointed out some of the audio/voice issues.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#27
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree, but I also think it's just not geared towards us because of our age and preexisting beliefs of "what podcasts/news/videos are supposed to be". Think of kids around age It's the same as short-video format for me. Sure, I can watch some TikToks from time to time, but making them, or continuously getting my news from them? Yeah, that's not gonna fly for me. However, for my niblings (age 8-17) that's bas…

The younger generation loves short-form, to-the-point stuff. Which is the exact opposite of what the current crop of GenAI makes. In a tiktok video, every sentence, every word counts because there's a time limit. If people don't engage with your content in the first 3 seconds, it's worthless. The video linked in another post starts off with 15 seconds of complete fluff. You'd have better engagement if you have a guy…

Isn't it just a matter of time until AI gets trained to generate attention-grabbing videos? Also, "the first three seconds" isn't exactly the case anymore. There's a push for algorithm to favour videos that are longer than 1+ minutes. Which, to my understanding, is TikTok's way of fighting for YouTube's userbase.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#28
post #3

Incredibly, no videos linked in an article about a video newscast. I think this is an example. The AI doesn't even pronounce "AI" correctly. Interestingly, it looks slightly offscreen just the way real newsreaders do when they're on prompter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa7Q2S7VWUk They do a lot right. There's interaction between the bots. They look kind of professional but not Los Angeles/New York quality, which…

The first thing I thought of when I saw this is that some mid-tier dictatorships could replace a lot of their newscasters with this approach. Can always guarantee they’ll say what they need to say, and a lack of emotion is a plus maybe? Except with the dear leader passes then you bring out a real person for the emotions.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#29
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree, but I also think it's just not geared towards us because of our age and preexisting beliefs of "what podcasts/news/videos are supposed to be". Think of kids around age It's the same as short-video format for me. Sure, I can watch some TikToks from time to time, but making them, or continuously getting my news from them? Yeah, that's not gonna fly for me. However, for my niblings (age 8-17) that's bas…

The younger generation loves short-form, to-the-point stuff. Which is the exact opposite of what the current crop of GenAI makes. In a tiktok video, every sentence, every word counts because there's a time limit. If people don't engage with your content in the first 3 seconds, it's worthless. The video linked in another post starts off with 15 seconds of complete fluff. You'd have better engagement if you have a guy…

Counterpoint, GenAI is great at copying styles and typically works best with shorter content.

For example, I could very easily see GenAI being able to produce 1 million TikTok dance challenges.

Re: The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired

#30
post #3

Incredibly, no videos linked in an article about a video newscast. I think this is an example. The AI doesn't even pronounce "AI" correctly. Interestingly, it looks slightly offscreen just the way real newsreaders do when they're on prompter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa7Q2S7VWUk They do a lot right. There's interaction between the bots. They look kind of professional but not Los Angeles/New York quality, which…

The guy locks like a deceised used as a marionette and the girl speaks like a tenor. But I guess it will become better. TV will turn so soul less, even when compared to today. Imagine Rakuten Dog Does Funny Stuff channel with this added as some filler. Dystopic.

"James began his tenure as lead anchor, at which point he was unable to blink and his hands were constantly vibrating. He was demoted to second anchor in mid-October, where he began blinking more regularly and his odd hand vibration was replaced by a single emphatic gesture."
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