- Tech news site Gizmodo has begun experimenting with posting articles written by AI.
- The Washington Post reported that a recent article about the movie “Star Wars” had a number of errors.
- Gizmodo employees are outraged that the inaccuracies hurt the magazine’s reputation.
As news outlets begin experimenting with using artificial intelligence to create stories, tech news site Gizmodo this week reminded them of the importance of editors overseeing the process.
About 10 minutes after store employees were informed Wednesday that an AI-assisted bot would generate news stories for the site, a “Gizmodo Bot” article listing all the “Star Wars” movies and TV shows in chronological order. was posted. — and it was full of mistakes, reports The Washington Post.
Deputy editor James Whitbrook told the Post he counted 18 “concerns, corrections and comments” about the story. Among them was an AI bot that incorrectly listed the chronology of the TV series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, omitting “Star Wars: Andor” and 2008. The Clone Wars films of 1992 were included in the list, containing formatting errors and repeated descriptions of George Lucas’ worldview.
“Never in my life have I had to deal with such a basic level of incompetence of any colleague I’ve worked with,” Whitbrook told the Post, adding that if “If chatbots can’t even do something as basic as Star Wars,” he added. If it says “release movies one after the other”, then readers can’t trust it to convey accurate information.
The article is one of five published using Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology as the outlet pilots new AI initiatives, according to Gizmodo representatives. told an insider. A representative declined to comment on the editorial review process the article underwent.
In an email sent to Gizmodo employees on June 29 and forwarded to the insider by a Gizmodo rep, editorial director Meryl Brown said the article was “an early, conservative test. There are mistakes.” It will be fixed as soon as possible,” he said. We also have pilot projects planned for the future, all designed to complement our journalism and provide our editorial team with new tools to serve our audience. “
Gizmodo employees quickly responded with thumbs-downs and poop emojis to Brown’s message on the company’s Slack channel announcing plans to “collect and act on feedback thoughtfully” about the AI pilot program. , expressed displeasure with the article, the Post reported.
The Publishers Association sent an open letter to company executives urging them to reconsider their stance on AI-generated articles, saying, “Computer-generated garbage undermines our ability to do our jobs, undermines our credibility as journalists, and damages our brands.” It hurts and threatens,” he said. our job. “
The GMG Union, representing the authors of “The Onion,” “Jezebel,” and “The Root,” issued a public appeal to its readers. Don’t click on articles written by AIclaimed the story was “unethical and unacceptable”.
A representative for the Gizmodo Union did not respond to an insider’s request for comment.
Gizmodo’s reporters weren’t the only ones angered by the blunder, readers were also expressing their dissatisfaction with the AI’s creation.
“Posting AI spam goes against why people read your various properties. If you do this me and no doubt many other long time readers will be saved and your ad The income will remain in the toilet,” said one reader. I have written on Twitter.
another called The article states, “Some executives clearly don’t understand their customers (readers), have very little relevance to integrity, and focus only on cost and profit, not quality and value.” A perfect example of what
Lifehacker reporter Claire Lower posted a screenshot of a draft of an email sent to the executives who led the decision: Brown, CEO Jim Spanfeller, and deputy editor Lee Goldman. posted. read: “Your legacy is one of destruction. Taking something you love and stripping it of everything that made it interesting and unique is heartbreaking to watch.”
“Your only motive is to make a profit, and you’re not good at it,” Lower added.
AI-generated content has become a hot topic in newsrooms across the country.
Employment security for journalists remains precarious. This year saw massive layoffs across the media industry, including BuzzFeed, NPR and Vice.
At the same time, news outlets, including Insider, announced new efforts to experiment with AI, introducing editorial procedures to prevent errors from being published.
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