Google denies that its new program pays publishers to replace journalists with AI

Google denies that its new program pays publishers to replace journalists with AI،

According to Advertising week, Google has launched a private program giving independent news agencies access to a beta generative artificial intelligence platform. In exchange for this access, Google requests feedback from these publishers. News organizations are supposed to use the generative AI tools they receive from Google to produce a certain amount of content over 12 months. These publishers also receive a monthly stipend from Google that amounts to a five-figure payment over the course of a year.

These publishers can also use, at no cost to them, tools to create content that may be of interest to their readers. Google says: “In partnership with news publishers, particularly smaller publishers, we are in the early stages of exploring ideas. to potentially provide AI-based tools to help journalists in their work.

Google stressed that these tools do not replace journalists. “This speculation that this tool would be used to republish the work of other media outlets is inaccurate. The experimental tool is responsibly designed to help small, local publishers produce high-quality journalism using factual content from sources public data, such as public data from a local government information office or health authority. These tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role that journalists play in covering, creating and fact-checking their articles.

Some complain that Google's private program is replacing human journalists. Google denies that its new program pays publishers to replace journalists with AI.

Some complain that Google's private program replaces human journalists

Publishers participating in the program must publish three articles each day, one newsletter each week, and one marketing campaign each month. To produce these articles, publishers create a list of websites that produce news and reports covering topics important to their readers. When these websites create a new article, it appears on what is called the “Platinum Dashboard”. The editor uses the generative AI platform to summarize the story and modify the style so that it reads like a news article.

Then, a human editor analyzes the story for accuracy before publishing it. Remember that three of these stories must be published each day by the editors who are part of the program. And the program doesn't require AI-assisted stories to be labeled as such, which some might consider misleading. Other rules prevent AI-created stories from writing about facts that haven't been written elsewhere, significantly limiting the use of these articles by premium publishers.

There are complaints about using the platform because articles created by it could take readers away from the original sources. Since AI-assisted stories don't add any new information, some say the program steals the work of others.

Adweek says: “Beta tools allow under-resourced publishers to more efficiently create aggregated content by indexing recently released reports generated by other organizations, like government agencies and neighboring media outlets, then summarizing and publishing them in the form of a new article. A Google spokesperson notes that the program is “in the early stages of exploring ideas that could provide AI-based tools to help journalists in their work.” The spokesperson says AI tools “are not intended to replace, and cannot replace, the essential role that journalists play in covering, creating and fact-checking their stories.”