Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Replacing news editors with AI is a worry for misinformation, bias and accountability

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

For now, my job as a human curator and reviewer of news in our field remains pretty important. This is especially the case as AI is increasingly being used to replace humans in media. As a leaked memo to employees at Axel Sprnger's Bild magazine says, they will "unfortunately part with colleagues who have tasks that will be replaced by AI and/or processes in the digital world. The functions of editorial directors, page editors, proofreaders, secretaries, and photo editors will no longer exist as they do today." Using the AI may make it easier for the company to enforce its political perspective, but it arguably will not support fairness and accuracy in journalism; as this article argues, "Unlike a human editor, AI cannot explain their decisions or reasoning in a meaningful way. This can be a problem in a field where accountability and transparency are important." Maybe. But what happens when the AIs inevitable become good. Will we still need people like me as a human curator and reviewer of news? Arguably not.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: May 07, 2024 02:33 a.m.

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