In November, one of our editorial teams, CNET Money, launched a test using an internally designed AI engine – not ChatGPT – to help editors create a set of basic explainers around financial services topics. We started small and published 77 short stories using the tool, about 1% of the total content published on our site during the same period. Editors generated the outlines for the stories first, then expanded, added to and edited the AI drafts before publishing. After one of the AI-assisted stories was cited, rightly, for factual errors, the CNET Money editorial team did a full audit.
[…]
As always when we find errors, we’ve corrected these stories, with an editors' note explaining what was changed. We’ve paused and will restart using the AI tool when we feel confident the tool and our editorial processes will prevent both human and AI errors.
77 is one percent of stories? So a normal November for CNET is to produce almost 8,000 pieces? No wonder they are looking for an AI to help.
I don’t think there is anything fundamentally wrong about using LLMs as a tool to assist in the writing process. Something changes, though, when you start treating it as a full-blown writer—when you give it a byline. At that point I think you should start being a little more introspective about how important the work you’re producing really is.
James Vincent, reporting for The Verge:
BuzzFeed says it’s going to use AI tools provided by ChatGPT creator OpenAI to “enhance” and “personalize” its content, according to a memo sent this morning to staff by CEO Jonah Peretti
[…]
“Our industry will expand beyond AI-powered curation (feeds), to AI-powered creation (content),” says Peretti. “AI opens up a new era of creativity, where creative humans like us play a key role providing the ideas, cultural currency, inspired prompts, IP, and formats that come to life using the newest technologies.”
[…]
In an example cited by the WSJ but not included in the memo, AI could be used to generate personalized rom-com pitches for readers.
[…]
When asked by The Verge if BuzzFeed was considering using AI in its newsroom, the company’s VP of communications, Matt Mittenthal, replied, “No.”
There is no need to reject the use of new technologies; by all means, experiment! But I am worried using AI to create content out of whole cloth risks devaluing all of the work you produce. Instead, using AI for personalization and curation will be much healthier step forward. I think BuzzFeed is on the right track here. CNET, less so.