It feels like we’ve suddenly been transported back to 2013, because everyone is talking about BuzzFeed. The reason why they’re talking about it, though, is very 2023.
What happened: BuzzFeed announced that it would use tools from AI chatbot ChatGPT creator OpenAI to help “personalize” and “enhance” content, including its (in)famous personality quizzes—you know, like the one that tells you whether or not you hate cilantro.
- Shares shot up ~200% over the past two days following the announcement (as well as news about a Meta partnership), a sign investors are buying into the AI hype.
When grilled by employees on Slack around copyright infringement of visual works and potential job cuts, CEO Jonah Peretti said the AI tools would be used only for text-based products initially, and that AI would be used to enhance work, not replace workers.
Why it matters: AI isn’t just going to be used for quizzes that tell you which White Lotus character would be your BFF. Sooner rather than later, AI will likely have a hand in an increasing amount of content you’ll see online—that even includes academic studies.
Yes, but: There are still kinks to work out before robots leave writers out of work. Prominent tech news website CNET recently ran a pilot program where it used AI to generate explainer articles, which it shut down this week after one piece was revealed to be riddled with errors.