Demolishing the Journalism Industry Using AI?

Demolishing the Journalism Industry Using AI?

By Futurism, May 12, 2023

Google's new search interface, built on a model trained on unpaid-for human output, will swallow even more human-made content and spit it back out to information-seekers, while taking clicks away from the publishers generating that content.

Remember back in 2018, when Google removed "don't be evil" from its code of conduct?

It's been living up to that removal lately. At its annual I/O in San Francisco this week, the search giant finally lifted the lid on its vision for AI-integrated search — and that vision, apparently, involves cutting digital publishers off at the knees.

Google's new AI-powered search interface, dubbed "Search Generative Experience," or SGE for short, involves a feature called "AI Snapshot." Basically, it's an enormous top-of-the-page summarization feature. Ask, for example, "why is sourdough bread still so popular?" — one of the examples that Google used in their presentation — and, before you get to the blue links that we're all familiar with, Google will provide you with a large language model (LLM) -generated summary. Or, we guess, snapshot.

"Google's normal search results load almost immediately," The Verge's David Pierce explains. "Above them, a rectangular orange section pulses and glows and shows the phrase 'Generative AI is experimental.' A few seconds later, the glowing is replaced by an AI-generated summary: a few paragraphs detailing how good sourdough tastes, the upsides of its prebiotic abilities, and more."

From Futurism

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CNET Is Quietly Publishing Entire Articles Generated By AI

Off we go with Robot Journalism ... 

CNET Is Quietly Publishing Entire Articles Generated By AI,   By Futurism, January 12, 2023

CNET is far from the first; the Associated Press has been using AI to automatically write thousands of earnings reports since 2015.

Next time you're on your favorite news site, you might want to double check the byline to see if it was written by an actual human.

CNET, a massively popular tech news outlet, has been quietly employing the help of "automation technology" — a stylistic euphemism for AI — on a new wave of financial explainer articles, seemingly starting around November of last year.

In the absence of any formal announcement or coverage, it appears that this was first spotted by online marketer Gael Breton in a tweet on Wednesday.

The articles are published under the unassuming appellation of "CNET Money Staff," and encompass topics like "Should You Break an Early CD for a Better Rate?" or "What is Zelle and How Does It Work?"

From Futurism   View Full Article    

Playing with Chat GPT: A Future of Delivering Knowledge?

The end of journalism, or the ability to tell the difference?    Continuing toimprove.   But will some of us will still be needed to point out the key details?  Experimenting there too... 

ChatGPT shrugged

Natasha Lomas@riptari / 6:44 PM EST•December 5, 2022

ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s designed to help people communicate with computers in a more natural and intuitive way — using natural language processing (NLP) technology. But what’s behind the development of ChatGPT and how can the tech be used to help humanity? These are some of the questions that we will explore in this article…

That rather bland lede, which we’ve slightly edited, was generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in response to a prompt by this (human) reporter. TechCrunch kicked off a conversation with the large language model by asking it to explain its function and purpose. We wanted to see if we could use the chatbot-style Q&A format it’s most recently been embedded into to probe the tech and get AI to articulate some of its limitations.

“ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) model developed by OpenAI. It is designed to generate human-like responses to text input, allowing users to engage in natural, conversational interactions with the model,” the AI responded to our ice breaker. “ChatGPT works by using machine learning algorithms to analyze and understand the meaning of text input, and then generating a response based on that input. The model is trained on large amounts of text data, allowing it to learn the patterns and structures of natural language.”

Additionally, the bot told us its approach allows it to generate responses that are “relevant, coherent, and appropriate” to the context of the conversation. (With more probing, it went on to heavily caveat that claim — writing later: “It is important to note that my responses are not guaranteed to be perfect or always correct, and there may be cases where my responses may not be relevant, coherent, or appropriate.”)

ChatGPT further described its mission as being “intended to help humanity by providing a more natural and efficient way to interact with artificial intelligence” — expanding on its claimed purpose thusly:

By allowing users to communicate with AI in a more human-like way, ChatGPT can help to make AI more accessible and useful for a wider range of applications. This can help to improve the efficiency and accuracy of tasks that rely on natural language processing, such as language translation, text summarization, and information retrieval. Additionally, by providing a more intuitive and human-like interface for AI, ChatGPT can help to make AI more approachable and less intimidating to users who are less familiar with technology. Overall, ChatGPT is intended to help humanity by improving the usability and effectiveness of AI.  ... ' 

Interactive Big Data Journalism

Finding information and useful interaction with it.   Though unclear what a 'big data journalism' means here. 

Interactive Tools May Help People Become Big Data Journalists

By Penn State News, May 6, 2022

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) researchers say people could use interactive tools to navigate, save, and tailor online content to extract meaning from big data.

The researchers found people more engaged with news websites that offered modality, message, and source interactivity tools than with sites that did not.

Penn State's S. Shyam Sundar said user experience is shaped by how these tools may be combined and how engaged users are in the topic; for example, the most engaging sites boasted a high concentration of modality tools and message interactivity.

"The types of interactivities we are talking about here can help users find information that they find personally meaningful and that they care about," Sundar said.

From Penn State News

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Journalism AI

Interesting to see what Google believes to be journalism.  Most importantly,  what are the goals of the idea?  Truth or readership?   Another example where behavior of consumers, as it relates to some goals,  needs to be better understood.

How AI could shape the future of journalism
By Mattia Peretti

Manager, Journalism AI
Published Jul 11, 2019

Editor’s note: What impact can AI have on journalism? That is a question the Google News Initiative is exploring through a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The following post is written by Mattia Peretti, who manages the program, called Journalism AI. ... "

Spotting the Bot in Journalism

Quite an interesting podcast and transcript.    Bt sill continue to grown in our environment of getting information.     Why does it matter?   Is it only a matter of efficiency? Great current examples below.

Will AI Save Journalism — or Kill It?  In K@W
Apr 09, 2019 Business Radio Podcasts  

NYU’s Meredith Broussard and Seth Lewis from the University of Oregon discuss the rise of robot journalism.

 In the past year, you have most likely read a story that was written by a bot. Whether it’s a sports article, an earnings report or a story about who won the last congressional race in your district, you may not have known it but an emotionless artificial intelligence perhaps moved you to cheers, jeers or tears. By 2025, a bot could be writing 90% of all news, according to Narrative Science, whose software Quill turns data into stories.

Many of the largest and most reputable news outlets in the world are using or dabbling in AI — such as The Washington Post, The Associated Press, BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times and Sunday Times (U.K.), Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK, and Finland’s STT. Last year, China’s Xinhua News Agency created the world’s first AI-powered news anchor, a male, using computer graphics. This year, it debuted the first AI female news anchor.

Even smaller outlets are publishing AI-written stories if they subscribe to services that create them, such as the AP and RADAR, which stands for Reporters And Data And Robots. A joint venture of the U.K. Press Association and tech firm Urbs Media, RADAR is an AI-powered news agency that generates thousands of local stories per week for U.K. media outlets that subscribe. Globally, a survey of nearly 200 top editors, CEOs and digital leaders showed that nearly three-quarters are already using AI, according to a 2018 report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. .... "

Jerry Pournelle Passes

Jerry Pournelle passes, an early adopter of computing technology, " ... the first author to write a novel on a computer ... " ,  science fiction writer and journalist.   I was a follower from the beginning of personal computing.   More in the Verge.  And in the Wikipedia.

Teaching Journalists About Data

Although this seems more about writing it very large than getting it correct and interactive and usable by everyone.

The Office of Creative Research, a New York data lab, has a lot to teach journalists  By Melody Kramer ....

(Simple) Data Science in the Press

My colleague Kaiser Fung, in his Junkcharts Blog,  on the use of dubious fractured statistics in the press.  The NYT notably has created a 'data science' team.  Considering the notion of the median vs the average in effectively describing data in the press.   As always, instructive.

Sanctity of 5W's Lost, but Needed

I had read somewhere that because of the internet, Ihe old 5 Ws rule (Who, What, Where, When, Why)  in the top sentence or para was no longer being taught.  Old outmoded stuff.  Then in reading some of the best known insert rags,  like USA Today,  noticed that they had forgotten one or more of the Ws.   Just because you are not including them at the top any more does not mean you can forget them entirely.  Where are the editors?  Very sloppy.  More on the Ws and their history in the WP. 

Data Science and Journalism

Good CACM overview of the increasing use of advanced data science in journalism

" .. The key attributes journalists must have—the ability to separate fact from opinion, a willingness to find and develop strong sources, and the curiosity to ask probing, intelligent questions—are still relevant in today's 140-character-or-less, ADHD-esque society. Yet increasingly, journalists dealing with technical topics often found in science or technology are turning to tools that were once solely the province of data analysts and computer scientists. ,,, " 

Thinking about Marketing Context with 6 Ws

Rules for thinking about how to communicate. Contextual market planning.  The 6 Ws.  Who-what-when-where-how-why.  I never took a journalism class.  Now I often read many articles these days that do not provide all the basic information.  If I care, I notice.   But is that the same as engaging?

The Algorithms of Robo Journalism

In the NYT.

If an Algorithm Wrote This, How Would You Even Know?
LET me hazard a guess that you think a real person has written what you’re reading. Maybe you’re right. Maybe not. Perhaps you should ask me to confirm it the way your computer does when it demands that you type those letters and numbers crammed like abstract art into that annoying little box. ... Because, these days, a shocking amount of what we’re reading is created not by humans, but by computer algorithms. We probably should have suspected that the information assaulting us 24/7 couldn’t all have been created by people bent over their laptops. ... " 

Automated Story Generation

Will journalism ultimately be mostly automated?  Some moves in that direction.  People still set the parameters.  Would like to see how the outlines of a story are defined.

Teaching Data Visualization with Legos

Interesting means of teaching incremental representation of data.  I have seen lots of bad visualization in journalism lately.  I would hope they would be able to abstract this way without Legos.  But whatever it takes.

The NYT on Innovation

Mashable expands on the recent NYT Innovation article.  Includes Mashable's takeaways. And a good summary of the challenges related.  My only further thought would be that the Times is talking about the challenges today, not what might appear in the next decade.  And if that decade is anything like the last, expect the world to change again with challenges anew.  Worth reading their current view.  With some interesting stats, especially on the falling readership of their home page.

" ... The New York Times commissioned a task force to assess the publication's digital efforts to date and recommend ways it can better keep up with the shifting digital landscape. A portion of the report was was released earlier this month, but on Thursday BuzzFeed obtained a copy of a 96-page version of the report report. ... "

Press Explaining News with Technology: Vox

How much should the press explain the news rather than just present it?   A colleague pointed out Vox to me.   Positioned as a closer melding of technology and journalism.  Is that a good thing?  It is inevitable.  What will it mean to advertising and promotion?  Much.

Alex Sopko Now Writing for the Washington Times

Have always been a journalist at heart.  There are useful news stories lined up in my head waiting to emerge.  I particularly love to see examples of how young journalists are advancing the use of online.   Want to help a budding journalist?  Read the below two articles, and link them in your own media to help her out.   Blogs, online, Twitter, Google+ ,  do what you can.   Its all about the links and hits.   Thanks.

Was glad to see that Alex Sopko, daughter of my friend and colleague John Sopko, has started to write for the Washington Times.  Short excerpts of two of her recent articles below with links to the full article.

" ... A video directed, filmed, and produced by the leadership team at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD has gone viral. The film, entered into Good Morning America’s “ROAR with Katy Perry” nationwide contest, is one of the top trends on Twitter and Facebook in the DC-metro area ... "  Read the whole thing.

" ... Frank Burns and his son, Cormac, made their way to the starting line. All around them runners stretched and began to warm-up. Some took a last minute sip of water. Some fixed their prosthetic legs.   ..... Burns, an active duty serviceman, and his son joined over 900 other local runners, athletes, veterans, current servicemen, and Wounded Warriors to run in the third ever McLean 5k Run with the Warriors at McLean Square on October 5.  ... "    Read the whole thing 

UPDATE 10/17/2013 :  And now also on the front page.