AI-generated writing and related tools are destined to alter the job of every person working in journalism, according to a new report.
“While humans remain integral to news operations, no job involving the practice of journalism will remain the same,” the study’s researchers observe.
“Humans are more vital than ever – particularly for judgment skills. But virtually all journalism roles will need to change.”
Published by the European Broadcasting Union, the report also found that AI is an expensive –though necessary — investment for many newsrooms.
“It is clear that AI and other developing data technologies will have a profound effect on society and on the future of journalism and communications,” says Noel Curran, EBU’s director general.
“It is already influencing how journalism is created, distributed and accessed.
“As public service broadcasters, we have a responsibility to understand these technologies, harness their potential, mitigate their dangers and ensure that journalism in the public interest remains accessible to all.”
In other AI-generated writing news:
*Sometimes, It’s More Like Sausage-Making: Generally a wunderkind, AI journalism tools can sometimes go off the rails – triggering disastrous consequences, according to author Daniel Green.
“Entrusting artificial intelligence to produce articles has proved to be a huge time-saver,” observes Green, a writer for Journalism.co.uk. “But it is prone to error.”
Some of the bigger snafus: Incorrect football scores that generated “disastrous” headlines. And a seven-year-old who was reported to be 70-years old.
“The fact is, automated journalism is only as reliable as the information that has been plugged into it to during its development and training,” Green observes.
*Smoking-Out Fake News: A Gameplan: Penn State researchers say fake news often exhibits telltale characteristics.
Those indicators include stories with bad grammar, lies that are easy-to-to discern and a tone devoid of typical journalistic style.
Other tells include a reliance on emotionally charged claims, use of unorthodox sources and use of atypical Web addresses.
“In order to automatically detect fake news, we first need to understand exactly what fake news is and what the different layers are,” says Maria Molina, lead author on the research.
*Zillow Uses AI-Generated Writing to Punch-up Job Ads: The online real estate marketplace says Textio’s AI-generated writing tool has enabled it to word job ads that encourage women to apply.
“Zillow Group’s data shows that it attracts 10% more applicants that identify as women, diversifying the applicant pool for the company,” observes Jessica Khoshnood, senior data insights manager, Textio.
Moreover, fewer than 5% of Zillow job ads are now couched in a masculine tone.
Textio’s tool also enables Zillow to auto-imbue the company’s primary cultural values into its job ads: making an impact, working for each other and nurturing innovation.
*Getting AI-Generated Business Reports Right: Nate Nichols offers a best practices checklist for generating written business analysis from a company database.
Nichols is a distinguished principal at Narrative Science, an AI-generated writing toolmaker.
“Data only matters if you can turn information into action,” Nichols observes. “To get from one to the other, you need to tell a story about your data that any person at your company can understand.”
*AI-Generated Writing Toolmaker Upgrades Its Software: Arria NLG has released an upgrade of its AI writing solution, dubbed NLG Studio 3.0.
The package is used by a number of organizations to auto-generate text descriptions and short stories from databases.
“Our platform brings together language analytics and advanced mathematical functions for the specific purpose of turning data into insightful, actionable narratives,” says Sharon Daniels, CEO of Arria NLG.
*A Look at AI-Copy Generator BrightEdge: PR Pro Paul Roetzer offers an in-depth look at this auto-copy-generating tool.
BrightEdge is designed with AI to create smart content that is targeted, streamlined, search engine optimized and profitable, according to Lemuel Park, BrightEdge CTO.
“AI is the only way for marketers to continue creating value, delight customers, and outsmart competition,” Park says.
*Comprehensive Study on AI in Journalism Released: An extensive study on how news organizations across the world are adopting AI has been released.
Among the report’s key findings: AI is altering the nature of journalism jobs — but not eliminating those jobs.
“Newsroom roles were seen to be changing more through the augmentation of current roles rather than the replacement of jobs,” observes Charlie Beckett.
Beckett is author of the report and director of the Media Policy Project, sponsored by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“There would be new tasks for people in existing roles and new workflows – but few AI-specific new roles,” Beckett adds.
Another major finding: Smaller news operations surveyed expressed concern they might not be able to keep pace with larger media outlets.
Those larger news organizations have the deep pockets to adopt and enhance ever-more-sophisticated AI systems.
The study’s researchers based their findings on a survey of 71 news organizations in 32 countries.
Perspectives from pros in all aspects of news production – including journalists, IT experts and marketing – were surveyed.
Most of the respondents were technologically sophisticated and could be called ‘digital early adopters,’ according to Beckett.
The report, “New Powers, New Responsibilities: A global survey of journalism and artificial intelligence,” was squired by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Funding came from the Google News Initiative.
(For a free copy of the report, scroll down the landing page to the link “Download the Journalism AI Report,” which you’ll find just below the report title.)
*Another Take on the Remake of Google’s Search Engine: Google’s decision to use new AI tools to ferret-out the underlying meaning of user searches has sent reverberations throughout the digital content creation industry.
Gordon Donnelly, an SEO & content specialist at WordStream, offers his take on how Google’s algorithm upgrade will impact how Google recommends Web content.
The short take: “Focus on creating more relevant and useful content, and creating more of it,” Donnelly observes.
Overall, the AI-makeover should enable Google to better understand the intent of 10% of all Google searches, according to Pandu Nayak, vice president search, Google.
*AI-Generated Writing: Who Owns the Copyright?: The U.S. government is weighing the creation of new copyright laws governing AI-generated writing.
The move was triggered in part by thorny disagreements over how AI-generated writing uses copyrighted material.
It’s also being driven by differences over who owns the copyright to writing generated by artificial intelligence.
Key issues the U.S. government is seeking public comment on – via the Federal Register – include:
*Is it legal for AI-generated writing software to use copyrighted material to generate its own stories?
*Should authors whose work is used to train AI-generated writing software be compensated in some way for the use of their work?
*Should AI-generated writing software companies be recognized as the copyright-protected author of any writing that software generates?
*Should people who work with AI-generated writing software in some way – either programmers or end-users – be offered copyright protection on the writing generated by that software?
*Can AI-generated work infringe on previously published, copyrighted work – and if so, what should be the consequences?
*Does AI-generated writing violate copyright laws in other ways?
(Note: To source the Federal Register notice and offer feedback, use the search phrase “Request for Comments on Intellectual Property Protection” once you arrive at the landing page for the above link.)
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*Also on RobotWritersAI.com — Evergreen Article:
*AI-Created Newsletters: On The Cheap
–Joe Dysart is editor of RobotWritersAI.com and a tech journalist with 20+ years experience. His work has appeared in 150+ publications, including The New York Times and the Financial Times of London.