THE New York Times reports that Google is developing an AI capable of writing news articles. It’s unclear exactly how this technology will differ from already existing AI systems that have been used to generate articles, or its AI chatbot Google Bard. However, Google has reportedly already showcased its new AI tool to news outlets such as the Washington PostNews Corp and the New York Times himself.
Currently in development under the working title “Genesis”, Google’s journalism bot can supposedly generate news when it receives details about events. According to TimeAnonymous sources say Genesis is intended to act as a personal assistant to journalists.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that the bosses of said journalists see this technology less as a tool for their employees and more as a substitute for them.
Google’s Bard AI chatbot is vulnerable to hackers. Just like ChatGPT.
The use of AI for news reporting could fuel the spread of misinformation. AI systems and chatbots such as Google Bard have proven to be much less adept at fact-checking than human journalists and are prone to reporting incorrect information with conviction and authority.
This has already landed some AI systems such as ChatGPT in legal hot water. A Georgia radio host sued ChatGPT for defamation last month after he provided an incorrect summary of a case in federal court that falsely claimed he defrauded his employer and embezzled funds. Earlier in May, a lawyer who used ChatGPT to prepare legal documents was caught citing cases that didn’t exist – the AI seemed to have completely made them up.
Google will no doubt try to anticipate similar issues in Genesis, as factual errors would be of particular concern in an AI system designed for journalism.
No matter how sophisticated Google is, a journalism AI will not be able to interview sources, experience events, or do investigative reporting on its own. Even so, with news writers now generally chained to their computers to produce multiple stories each dayyou could say that most journalists don’t have the opportunity to do that anyway.
