Karl Bode: "AI" could be used to improve journalism. Instead, the fail-upward brunchlords in charge of most major modern media companies see it as a way to cut corners, undermine labor, and badly automate low quality SEO-chasing clickbait and PR at unprecedented scale

"AI" could be used to improve journalism. Instead, the fail-upward brunchlords in charge of most major modern media companies see it as a way to cut corners, undermine labor, and badly automate low quality SEO-chasing clickbait and PR at unprecedented scale

A national network of local news sites is publishing AI-written articles under fake bylines. Experts are raising alarm | CNN Businesswww.cnn.com Last year, Hoodline began filling its site with AI-generated articles, and Zachary Chen, chief executive of Hoodline parent company Impress3, defended the practice.

good times!

fun stuff!

the "AI journalism revolution" is going great, thanks for asking!

"news" orgs like this inject themselves parasitically into the journalism bloodstream, using automation to badly aggregate and reconstitute of press releases and other outlets' work, without injecting any original reporting, insight, or intelligent analysis.

Seattle News |hoodline.com Hoodline brings you daily local news coverage from Seattle. We cover restaurants, things to do, business, real estate, retail, and more.

and because Google News now prefers to spend its billions chasing impossible scale via unworkable gimmicks, they've let Google Search and Google News quality deteriorate, making it easier that ever for this kind of half-assed simulacrum glom onto money that should be going to better journalism

Yeah something is definitely effed up with Google and they are screwing up a lot... Plus eventually the servers will just break

But Karl, did line go up? Did line go up now? Line went down? How could this happen? Make line go back up now!

Not sure it’s the media brunchlords as much as equity recognizing a demand for local news so great that they can serve up this trash

Are we actually sure it could be used to improve anything? I'm skeptical.

it can sometimes be helpful with editing, certainly can be helpful with transcription, and could also be used to ease administrative burdens if done correctly but the extraction class just sees it as a path toward doubling down on all their worst tendencies

But at what cost? Most of the things you mention can be done with previously extant software that doesn't do as well at destroying the planet.

well yes sir, the fact that it's hoovering up tons of water and electricity at a time where climate destabilization is putting massive stress on long-neglected systems certainly does raise the question of whether the value proposition is a deadly one

Post