Pulling the plug on Al MUCKRAKING
These days, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real and what’s not, both in words and images.
Thanks to technological advances coming so fast it makes one’s head spin, software programs can now convincingly duplicate voices, falsely enhance or create totally realistic-looking landscapes that never existed with people who were never there, and even show “live” images of actors, politicians and pundits speaking or moving that are completely fabricated.
Lately, audiences have seen incredibly detailed photos of throngs massed at political rallies, when in truth attendance was sparse.
All of these are very hard to detect as deceptions, which is why they’re called deepfakes. As the name implies, these productions are misleading, disingenuous and dangerous. However, the misdirection doesn’t stop there.
Thanks to generative artificial intelligence, or generative AI, the same can be done to produce news stories and press releases.
Generative AI refers to models or algorithms that create new output, including articles, other copy, pictures and videos.
The process generates content by sampling or referring back to original data or source material an algorithm has been programmed to repurpose.
In short, some folks think a computer program can take the place of flesh-andblood reporters and editors and churn out news stories.
Recent research has taught us this is a practice fraught with pitfalls.
Software that corrects spelling mistakes or notes when you use an adverb too often are one thing, but information filtered through an AI system to create articles or other news content risks missing the mark for accuracy and impartiality.
That’s why we have trained, professional journalists covering events and writing articles, not machines.
Only people, not algorithms, understand the full range of human emotion, human frailty and human subtlety.
Other media companies may be using AI, telling readers it’s about better data collection, better grammar and better curation, but in many cases it just seems like an excuse to cut costs and trim personnel.
This newspaper, and our parent company Granite Media Partners Inc., is banning the sweeping use of generative AI to help with or create any news content or images.
We’re making a pledge to our readers that your stories will be told by real people — folks who live, shop, gather and worship in your communities.
In other words, our staffers are your neighbors.
No robots need apply.
Edwards is the vice president of content for Granite Media Partners Inc., which owns the Taylor Press. He can be reached at thomas. edwards@granitemediapartners. com. Letters to the editor are encouraged, but staff reserves the right to edit for length, taste and grammar. This column is a reprint from other Granite publications.
