Major news site, Insider, has recently announced their plans to incorporate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into their reporting. However, their Global Editor-in-chief, Nich Carlson, warned in an internal email to its staff that they were aware that it was known to fabricate and plagiarize information. He also noted that generative AI can introduce falsehoods and bias into reporting, and that it should not be trusted as a source of truth.
Nich Carlson also acknowledged the potential benefit of using ChatGPT as a “bicycle of the mind”, noting that it could be used to improve workflows and productivity of editors, reporters, and producers. Despite the potential benefits, Nich also reminded his staff that their stories must still be written by them and they were ultimately responsible for its accuracy, fairness, originality, and quality. He warned them of plagiarism, noting that generative AI may lift phrases from other sources and present it as original.
It is clear from Nich’s email that although AI-generated text is taking a larger foothold in newsroom workflows, it should still be withheld with ample caution. This has been made increasingly apparent with the issues surrounding CNET’s AI-generated articles.
At the end of the day, it is important for us to keep in mind that AI is not yet advanced enough to fully replicate humanistic thinking. Using the bot for research is acceptable, but it must always be accompanied by ethical writing standards and vigilance when it comes to fabrication and plagiarism.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a prominent example of machine learning, as it utilizes AI to help generate text. It is a natural language generation startup formed in partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, with the intention of providing and automating human-like conversations. OpenAI’s chatbot is designed to answer questions in real-time and is trained using large datasets.
Nich Carlson is the Global Editor-in-Chief of Insider. He has served in the role since 2019 and joined the team in 2017 as Deputy Editor-in-Chief. As Global Editor-in-Chief, he is committed to setting the editorial strategy for the Insider’s newsrooms worldwide and ensuring the accuracy, fairness and quality of every word on the site. His main mission is to both shape the future of digital journalism and recognizing the power of disruptive tech.
