Experts Worry About News Stories Written with Artificial Intelligence

2023 · VOA Learning English

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Transcript

1. Google is developing an artificial intelligence tool that produces news articles. And the development is troubling some experts.

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2. They say such tools risk spreading propaganda or threatening the safety of people who provide reporters with information, or sources.

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3. The New York Times reported last week that Google is testing a new product named Genesis.

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4. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce news stories, or articles.

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5. The New York Times said Genesis gathers information, like details about current events, to create news stories.

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6. Google already has pitched the product to the Times and other organizations, including The Washington Post and News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal newspaper.

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7. The launch of AI chatbot ChatGPT last fall created a debate about how AI ought to be used in the news industry.

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8. AI tools can help reporters research by quickly examining data from large computer files. AI can also help reporters confirm or disprove information from sources.

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9. But there is fear that AI tools could spread propaganda and cause journalists to lose the skill of reporting.

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10. John Scott-Railton studies disinformation at the Citizen Lab, part of the University of Toronto.

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11. He told VOA that a lot of information gathered by AI comes from places on the internet “where disinformation and propaganda get targeted.” Paul M.

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12. Barrett is with New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. He agrees that AI could increase the spread of false information.

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13. "It’s going to be easier to generate myths and disinformation,” he told VOA. “The supply of misleading content is, I think, going to go up.”

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14. In an emailed statement to VOA, a Google spokesperson said its tool is designed to help reporters, or journalists, in their work, not replace them.

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15. AI cannot replace the “role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” the spokesperson said.

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16. AI tools in journalism could also hurt trust in news organizations.

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17. Public opinion researchers Gallup and the Knight Foundation released a study in February about trust in the media.

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18. It said that half of Americans believe that national news organizations try to mislead or misinform the public.

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19. “I’m puzzled that anyone thinks that the solution to this problem is to introduce a much less credible tool,” said Scott-Railton.

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20. He earlier received support from Google’s research group Google Ideas. Reports say that AI chatbots regularly produce answers that are wrong or made up.

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21. Digital experts are also concerned about the security risks of using AI tools to produce news stories.

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22. Reporters would have to be careful not to reveal to AI systems information like “the identity of a confidential source, or, I would say, even information that the journalist wants to make sure

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23. doesn't become public,” Barrett said. Scott-Railton said he thinks AI probably could be used in most industries.

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24. But it is important not to introduce the technology too quickly, especially in the news.

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25. “What scares me is that the lessons learned in this case will come at the cost of well-earned reputations will come at the cost of factual accuracy when it actually counts,” he said.

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