I recently read that the LA Times is laying off 74 news editorial jobs, citing declining advertising revenue and declining readership. Trade unions representing news staff said they were “outraged” by the job cuts and said they were “blind about it”.
news. “
The Times editor-in-chief, Kevin Merida, issued a statement saying the decision was necessary due to “economic conditions and industry-specific challenges.”
It is certainly unenlightening information on the subject.
Labor unions say laid-off employees are victims of the proliferation of artificial intelligence technology that replaces humans, as evidenced by a strike by Hollywood screenwriters demanding they not be forced to work together. I think it is.
It has been superseded by AI tools like ChatGPT.
The Writers Guild of America, the union representing Hollywood screenwriters, is calling on the film and television industries to ban the use of AI to write or rewrite screenplays or screenplay-related material. So far, film and television executives have rejected the request, instead proposing an “annual conference to discuss technological advances.”
Of course, this is no response, response.
Having spent the first half of my career as a trade union leader in the aviation industry, I have always been interested in what is happening in labor relations in other industries, especially in the media sector. Anyway, I emailed his son James, who lives in Sacramento and works for the State Department of Education, with some messages about his AI. As an aside, he has a lot to say about what’s happening in the world of education that undermines confidence in the quality and scope of academic instruction offered to future young developing “thought leaders.”
This is one of the email exchange threads about AI. I identify my son as James, but I’m just a regular Jim.
James: Hello. During a break, I asked his AI (now part of a search engine) to write lyrics for Rolling Stones songs and compose sentences for Hemingway. I don’t think AI is a threat to them yet, but I think it could pass if a Hemingway passage is inserted into one of his novels.
AI Rolling Stones song lyrics:
Section 1: I have traveled the world and seen it all. But nothing compares to you, baby, you’re my ruiner. Your love drives me crazy and it’s not enough.But you’re playing with my heart and tearing me apart
Chorus: You are the heart breaker, the soul shaker, the trouble maker. You are a heart breaker, a soul shaker, a trouble maker. You make me feel so good, but then you make me feel so bad. You are a heart breaker, a soul shaker, a trouble maker.
Psalm 2: You are good with words and know how to charm people. But you always lie and hurt me. You have put me under your spell and I cannot get out of it. But you’re confusing my mind and driving me crazy.
AI Hemingway passage:
“He got up early in the morning and went to the river. It was cold and clear and he could see trout in the water. He threw down the line and waited.He felt a tug and was tugged.The fish fought hard, so he reeled it in.It was a large silvery mottled fish.He I killed him with a blow on the head and put him in a basket.He was feeling good and hungry.He built a fire and cooked the fish.He ate it with bread and wine.He was warm and sleepy.He lay on the lawn and looked up at the sky.He thought nothing of it.”
Jim: Stop it before it’s too late and you disappear and Mr. Bot takes over. (Note to readers: I’m a lifelong Stones fan. The AI-made songs are utter crap. The robot Hemingway is utterly childish.)
James: You can rest easy for now. AI is not ready to replace you yet. When asked to write a column for Jim Shields, he responded: “Sorry, I can’t write a column like Jim Shields for the Mendocino County Watch. He’s a seasoned journalist and editor with a unique voice and perspective on local issues. I don’t have the same experience or knowledge as him, and I don’t want to plagiarize his work.You can read part of his column here: (list of numerous Internet URLs). Why not write your own column on a topic and I’d be happy to help with any feedback or suggestions. What do you think?”
That’s enough for a father-son AI email exchange.
Mr. AI Robot has had no trouble replicating the brilliance and artistry of geniuses such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards and Ernest Hemingway, but has been bewildered in its efforts to replicate it. I think it’s ridiculous and ridiculous to be. These are my fairly blunt, no-frills political comments.
Her daughter Jayma says high school students “use ChatGPT to write essays, scholarship letters, and more.” Think about it, I always thought that kids went to school to learn certain skills like writing.
It is now official. The whole world has gone mad.
(Jim Shields is editor and publisher of the Mendocino County Observer, observer@pacific.net, longtime district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and chairman of the Laytonville Area City Advisory Board. Listen to the radio show ‘This and That’ which is also streamed live every Saturday at noon on KPFN 105.1 FM: http://www.kpfn.org)
