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 (404media.co/author/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." (futurism.com/washington-post-pivot-ai)
Response: Defector Media Promotes Devin The Dugong To Chief AI Officer, Unveils First AI-Generated Blog (defector.com/defector-media-promotes-devin-the…)
The Washington Post's First AI Strategy Editor Talks LLMs in the Newsroom (niemanlab.org/2024/03/the-washington-posts-fir…)
Also: New Washington Post CTO comes from Uber (washingtonpost.com/pr/2023/07/11/vineet-khosla…)
The Washington Post debuts AI chatbot, will summarize climate articles. (axios.com/2024/07/09/washington-post-ai-chatbo…)
Media companies are making a huge mistake with AI (theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/05/fat…)
When ChatGPT summarizes, it does nothing of the kind (ea.rna.nl/2024/05/27/when-chatgpt-summarises-i…)

404 Media: 404 Media Now Has a Full Text RSS Feed (404media.co/404-media-now-has-a-full-text-rss-…)
404 Media: Websites are Blocking the Wrong AI Scrapers (Because AI Companies Keep Making New Ones) (404media.co/websites-are-blocking-the-wrong-ai…)

Fresh AI Hell:
"AI" Alan Turning (bbc.com/news/articles/ckkg7vyy747o)
• Our Opinions Are Correct: The Turing Test is Bullshit (w/Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender) (bit.ly/3X8MSLo)
Google advertises Gemini for writing synthetic fan letters (washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/31/google-…)
Dutch Judge uses ChatGPT's answers to factual questions in ruling (nu.nl/tweakers/6323110/rechter-gebruikt-chatbo…)
Is GenAI coming to your home appliances? (forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/03/29/genera…)
AcademicGPT (Galactica redux) (tlooto.com/trial/?OS2)
"AI" generated images in medical science, again (now retracted) (bsky.app/profile/brynphd.bsky.social/post/3kyn…)
Check out future streams on Twitch (twitch.tv/dair_institute). Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see (thecon.ai/submit-fresh-ai-hell).
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Music by Toby Menon.
Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park (naomipleasurepark.com).
Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.