Google is taking a break from its fight with Canadian publishers to showcase its brand-new toy for journalists: An AI helper.
Driving the news: Google is pitching major news publishers like The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal on a new generative AI tool called Genesis that it says can produce news articles.
- Google is positioning Genesis as an assistant, not a replacement, for journalists—human reporters will still need to feed it information which it can then turn into a story draft.
Why it’s happening: Many newsrooms are searching for ways to remain financially viable, and some publishers are already turning to AI tools in a bid to cut costs.
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Outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and Insider, have already told their staff that they plan to explore the use of AI in the newsroom.
- Organizations like Buzzfeed and the Associated Press already use AI to help write some stories that they say require less nuance and human input, like travel guides and earnings reports. (The Peak takes some offence, we love a good earnings report story.)
Why it matters: Adopting an AI tool that can play fast and loose with the facts—as all major large language models on the market tend to do—is a huge gamble for news organizations that could further undermine the public’s trust in media.
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CNET and G/O Media have already come under fire for factual errors found in articles that they enlisted AI to write.
- Canadians’ trust in news is already down 13% from 2016, hitting its lowest point in 7 years, according to a Reuters report.
Yes, but: News outlets might have a hard time saying no to a tool that can make reporters more productive—or, less optimistically, allow them to employ fewer of them in the first place.
Bottom line: AI tools like Genesis might be good for media companies’ finances in the short-term, but risk long-term damage to their brand if it comes at the expense of readers’ trust. —LA