The Future of Journalism: Replacing Writers and Editors With AI

Not that long ago, it was announced that Microsoft was going to be laying off dozens of journalists and editors in an effort to replace them with AI that would be tasked with doing pretty much the same job.

For Microsoft News and MSN, the artificial intelligence technology would be tasked with sifting through various news reports of the day and finding which ones are gaining the most traction etc, what is most popular, and then reformatting those articles for further sharing.

But sometimes what is trending isn't always going to be what is the most important story of the day. There are many injustices that get reported on that will never see the same media attention that others get. And so further relying on popular opinion to dictate what should be shared, could further degrade the quality of the content that gets found on those platforms. They aren't the only company doing this either, there are others such as the Seattle Times, which have also announced similar plans to use AI for journalist replacement.

Others that have also adopted automated systems for their own content management include Reuters, Bloomberg News, The Associated Press, and the Washington Post.

The artificial intelligence tech that the WP has been using, known as Heliograf, has been able to publish almost 1,000 articles in only one year.

While those behind the move, that will impact news at MSN, claim that the articles which get selected are going to be representative of a wide range of topics, if they are only going to be focusing on what is gaining traction and on what is popular, then mistakes will be made.

Machines are not immune to making mistakes and it is very easy to assume that they might miss something valuable. Just the same, that they might share something ridiculous or something which violates their own editorial guidelines.

While suggestions for bringing more automation into the industry have been coupled with claims that robots won't be replacing journalists but will be assisting them in helping to get the work done along the way, that gets contradicted when dozens are let go from their jobs as this new technology becomes implemented.

Still, it's estimated that AI is going to help free up time for journalists and reporters etc, about 20 percent or more and gives them more opportunity to engage in other valuable reporting.

Is this trend going to 'help save journalism' today ? Or might it be one more change that is going to further taint the press as we know it, helping lies to flourish and the uncomfortable truth to remain covered up.

Pics:
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