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- Wednesday 3rd May: AI in media: myths and misconceptions
Wednesday 3rd May: AI in media: myths and misconceptions
Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Chris.
Did you know? Under the Media Voices aegis we write reports on the topics that will define the media industry for years to come. This time, our very own Peter Houston has written an article summarising some of the key learnings from our latest report into the myths and misconceptions that surround the use of AI in media.
In his words: "Yes, we’re hearing stories all the time about generative AI creating end-to-end content based on limited text prompts. The problem is that half of those stories are about how the technology got it wrong. ChatGPT levels of inaccuracy are not an option for local media outlets producing content that people rely on everyday. Human oversight is the only way forward."
Amen! AI 100% has a place in both the workflows of journalists and media decision makers - and I seriously doubt anyone is yet considering removing the human element entirely. But as this report makes clear there are scenarios where implementation of AI makes total sense as a part of the everyday process of producing journalism, and it doesn't need to be an either/or situation. Read it. Read it read it read it!
You and I should never, ever have imposter syndrome ever again. There were - and still will be - countless job losses because of the actions of these two know-nothings who wanted opprobrium without accountability. If you ever needed evidence that news and journalism needs to find a way to use social media without being dependent on it, look no further than these two daddy's boys sniping at one another.
Seemed like this got lost among the rest of the news and faff yesterday, but it's worth holding up as an example of what we'd lose if we lost the BBC. No news organisation is truly impartial, not even the BBC, but efforts like this are vital for keeping the flow of information going in times of crisis when commercially-driven news organisations can't or won't.
This was almost my lead story for today's newsletter, but I took a little walk and cooled off and now think it's worth coming into this discussion with a clearer head. I've always said that Google is too large an organisation to consider as one entity: I believe that one hand wants to support publishers and the public while the other is wholly concerned with making money even if that's at the expense of the truth. If you want to see how that dichotomy ties the organisation into knots, this story illustrates it perfectly.
More from Media Voices
Our special Practical AI podcast documentary explores how local media organisations have got started with AI projects, the benefits they’re seeing, the challenges they’ve faced and what advice they would give to other publishers looking to get into AI. This episode and our corresponding report have been made possible with the support of United Robots.
Our Practical AI report sidesteps the myths and misconceptions surrounding AI to find out what practical applications there really are for publishers. It spotlights use cases from publishers using AI to turn massive structured datasets into local news reports, updates on local sports teams and the insights inside property listings.
