Major Online Media Company G/O Media Announces Test Toward AI Generated Content

According to an email to staff, G/O Media has announced a “modest test’ of AI content on its websites. If the AI content test proves successful, it could see many well-known sites such as Deadspin, Gizmodo, Kotaku, and others begin publishing AI-generated content.

This comes from an announcement to staff that was published on Twitter by the Daily Beast reporter Corbin Bolies. In the email, G/O Media Editorial Director, Merrill Brown, clarified that the shift to AI shouldn’t shock staff. He said in part about the move that “everyone in the media business” is looking to AI.

In part, he isn’t wrong. As reported back in June, fellow media publisher Gannett, announced its own introduction of generative AI into its systems. The email also attempted to reassure staff that the goal of AI would be to help G/O Media’s overall goals.

Brown said,  “producing just a handful of stories for most of our sites that are basically built around lists and data…These features aren’t replacing work currently being done by writers and editors, and we hope that over time if we get these forms of content right and produced at scale, AI will, via search and promotion, help us grow our audience.”

As one might expect, the news of AI being introduced into their business model didn’t sit well with some staff. In a statement via Twitter, Unions representing G/O media staff stated, “We are appalled by this news. The hard work of journalists cannot be replaced by unreliable AI programs notorious for creating falsehoods and plagiarizing the work of real writers.”

Concerns about AI’s impact on the labor market have been growing over the last year or so. Much of this is due to how quickly AI has scaled in multiple industries. This has led to one of DeepMind’s co-founders Mustafa Suleyman, warning governments of the possible negative impact of AI on the job market.

Other major companies such as CNET and BuzzFeed have used AI already. And there have been some mixed results with what was generated, with CNET making clear that it proved that AI can help, but human writers are still needed.

It will be interesting to see how the test by G/O goes, and how it will affect the overall work environment for staff at their websites. Overall, the impact of AI is still yet to be measured, but many eyes, including tech leaders, and policymakers, are watching closely.