Episode 39: Newsrooms Pivot to Bullshit (feat. Sam Cole), Aug 5 2024

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 BlogThe Washington Post's First AI Strategy Editor Talks LLMs in the NewsroomAlso: New Washington Post CTO comes from UberThe Washington Post debuts AI chatbot, will summarize climate articles.Media companies are making a huge mistake with AIWhen ChatGPT summarizes, it does nothing of the kind404 Media: 404 Media Now Has a Full Text RSS Feed404 Media: Websites are Blocking the Wrong AI Scrapers (Because AI Companies Keep Making New Ones)Fresh AI Hell:"AI" Alan TurningOur Opinions Are Correct: The Turing Test is Bullshit (w/Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender)Google advertises Gemini for writing synthetic fan lettersDutch Judge uses ChatGPT's answers to factual questions in rulingIs GenAI coming to your home appliances?AcademicGPT (Galactica redux)"AI" generated images in medical science, again (now retracted)Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.