Episode Details
Back to EpisodesEpisode 39: Newsrooms Pivot to Bullshit (feat. Sam Cole), Aug 5 2024
Description
The Washington Post is going all in on AI -- surely this won't be a repeat of any past, disastrous newsroom pivots! 404 Media journalist Samantha Cole joins to talk journalism, LLMs, and why synthetic text is the antithesis of good reporting.
References:
The Washington Post Tells Staff It’s Pivoting to AI: "AI everywhere in our newsroom."
Response: Defector Media Promotes Devin The Dugong To Chief AI Officer, Unveils First AI-Generated Blog
The Washington Post's First AI Strategy Editor Talks LLMs in the Newsroom
Also: New Washington Post CTO comes from Uber
The Washington Post debuts AI chatbot, will summarize climate articles.
Media companies are making a huge mistake with AI
When ChatGPT summarizes, it does nothing of the kind
404 Media: 404 Media Now Has a Full Text RSS Feed
404 Media: Websites are Blocking the Wrong AI Scrapers (Because AI Companies Keep Making New Ones)
Fresh AI Hell:
Google advertises Gemini for writing synthetic fan letters
Dutch Judge uses ChatGPT's answers to factual questions in ruling
Is GenAI coming to your home appliances?
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Music by Toby Menon.
Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
Production by Ozzy Llinas Good