Researchers at the University of Washington plan to release their AI algorithm – GROVER — that they say can generate extremely convincing, text-based fake news.
The system is also able to write in the style of highly respected publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post and Wired.
Researchers say their motivation for releasing the algorithm is to alert the public that such technology can be easily created and deployed.
In other AI-generated writing news:
*The Houston Chronicle Ads AI-Generated Writing to Its Arsenal: The daily paper recently brought in AI news service Hoodline to auto-generate stories about high school sports, business openings and closings and weather, according to Houstonia.
Data journalists formulate the appropriate story templates, and human editors review each story, according to Jason Hwang, head of partnerships, Hoodline.
*Great – But Can AI-Generated Writing Be Funny?: Advertisers are tinkering with AI writing tools to auto-produce copy that is witty, heart-warming and creative. Essentially, they want AI-generated writing to be more human.
“We got quite fascinated by how we inject this concept of creativity,” says Audrey Kuah, managing director, Dentsu Aegis Network, a marketing firm.
*Microsoft Word’s Embedded AI – Pushing the Liberal Agenda, Conservatives Say: Many right-leaning thinkers are balking at the AI writing tools recently added to Microsoft Word.
The focus of their ire: AI-triggered auto-suggestions for changing your writing to be more inclusive, nondiscriminatory and the like.
“One has to wonder if Microsoft will only be satisfied if all of us are as woke as Justin Trudeau,” according to the Washington Times article.
“The Canadian prime minister came under fire early last year when he rebuked a young woman for using that pesky term ‘mankind.’ At the town hall, he then instructed her to use the more inclusive ‘peoplekind,’ which is a term that does not exist.”
*McGraw-Hill Adding AI-Writing Coaching Tool for Students: The still-in-development app will be embedded into the McGraw-Hill Connect online learning system.
McGraw-Hill is tapping Vantage Learning for the enhancement, which offers an AI-feedback and scoring system, designed to help students choose more effective wording and grammar.
The AI is also is engineered to improve ideation skills and cultivate quality writing.
*Seven Ways Robots are Being Used by Publishers and Newsrooms: “The robots are coming,” observes Damian Radcliffe, a fellow of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. With this article, he offers a wide-ranging look at how publishers are changing the face of journalism, AI-generated writing and similar AI tools.
“For some publishers, automation is already a reality, as the technology – and the potential it affords – becomes increasingly mainstream,” Radcliffe adds.
*An In-Depth Look at AI Job Postings Tool Textio: CNBC offers a close-up into the inner workings of Textio, an AI tool designed to auto-generate nondiscriminatory job postings.
“Textio has opened our eyes to how much inclusive language can impact hiring performance,” says Annie Rihn, a Textio user and vice president of recruiting at Zillow.
*AI-Generated Journalism Inevitable – A View From the Middle East: Numerous sources in the Al-Ahram Weekly story predict it’s only a matter of time before AI-generated writing makes major inroads in Middle Eastern journalism.
Prominently quoted is Bassant Attia, a professor at the Arab Academy, who recently one first prize for her paper, “The Future of AI and Media Professionals in Egypt.”
*A Look at AI Writing Aid Wordeep: HackRead offers a brief glimpse into the workings of Wordeep, advertised as another editing and writing tool driven by artificial intelligence.
*MIT-Led Study: AI Is So Profound, We Need a New Science to Assess Its Impact: The coming tidal wave of changes promised by AI will be so pervasive, we need a new, interdisciplinary science to begin studying how it will remake the world, according to an academic study published in Nature.
“We’re seeing the rise of machines with agency, machines that are actors making decisions and taking actions autonomously,” according to the study’s researchers. “This calls for a new field of scientific study that looks at them not solely as products of engineering and computer science but additionally as a new class of actors with their own behavioral patterns and ecology.”
–Joe Dysart is 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.