Politico Hacks Whinge About Artificial Intelligence Summarising Their Stories – Guido Fawkes

Politico Hacks Whinge About Artificial Intelligence Summarising Their Stories

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Stateside journalists at Politico are up in arms over the company’s new AI-powered tool that delivers live news summaries during major political events. The tech was rolled out last March, with Politico executive Rachel Loeffler hailing it as “seamlessly integrating generative AI with our unmatched policy expertise.” The hacks are having none of it…

Now backed by the PEN Guild union – Politico being one of the first US newsrooms to bag a union contract – the journos claim the AI tool violates their agreement by being introduced without the required 60 days’ notice. Union reps argue the technology “materially and substantively impacts bargaining unit job duties” and that “this isn’t just a contract dispute, it’s a test of whether journalists have a say in how AI is used in our work.” The union’s vice chair Arianna Skibell, who pens Politico’s energy newsletter, lamented:

“We’re not against AI, but it should be held to the same ethical and style standards as our political journalists. We do remain hopeful that we can come to some kind of agreement. But we’re also ready for a fight.”

Meanwhile, less hysterical journalists are actually putting AI to good use. Two Pulitzer Prize winners revealed they used the technology to help uncover systemic failures in the Chicago Police Department’s investigations last year. Guido can think of a few morning emails that would benefit from AI summarisation…