Google is currently testing an AI tool, known as Genesis, that aims to allow corporate media to generate news stories. The woke Silicon Valley giant could have invented the only way some publishers could add even more leftist slant to their newsrooms.
The New York Times reports that Google’s Genesis, an AI tool currently under testing, is being pitched as a personal assistant for journalists. The tool has been demonstrated to executives at prominent news organizations, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and News Corp, the owner of the Wall Street Journal.
Google spokesperson Jenn Crider clarified the role of Genesis in a statement. “In partnership with news publishers, especially smaller publishers, we’re in the earliest stages of exploring ideas to potentially provide AI-enabled tools to help their journalists with their work,” she said. Crider emphasized that these tools are not intended to replace journalists. “Quite simply, these tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” she added.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is happy (Boris Streubel /Getty)
The New York Times building (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the introduction of Genesis has not been without controversy. Some executives who saw Google’s pitch described it as unsettling. They felt it seemed to take for granted the effort that goes into producing accurate and impactful news stories.
Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor and media commentator, highlighted the potential benefits and drawbacks of such technology. “If this technology can deliver factual information reliably, journalists should use the tool,” Jarvis said. However, he also warned of potential misuse. “If, on the other hand, it is misused by journalists and news organizations on topics that require nuance and cultural understanding, then it could damage the credibility not only of the tool, but of the news organizations that use it,” he added.
Just as AI is trying to move into the newsroom, its accuracy is being called into question. Breitbart News recently reported that a Stanford study of ChatGPT found that its ability to solve math problems seems to be fading fast:
One of the most striking findings was the drastic change in GPT-4’s ability to solve math problems. According to the study, GPT-4 was able to recognize that the number 17077 is a prime number 97.6 percent of the time when it was asked in March. But only three months later, its accuracy fell to a pitiful 2.4 percent. In contrast, the GPT-3.5 model showed an opposite trajectory, improving its accuracy from 7.4 percent in March to 86.8 percent in June on the same task.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan