Ink Stained Wretches: You Are Redundant, Says Smart Software
June 23, 2018
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing skilled and unskilled tasks with wicked efficiency, from juggling the wait times on a customer service line to sentencing hardened criminals. One skilled task that looks like it will be the next on the chopping block is journalism. We found out more from a recent Big Think story, “AI’s Newest Target for Worker Displacement: Journalism.”
The story followed a Bloomberg News employee who recently lost his job:
“AI, he believes, had a part in ending his 12-year employment. He estimates that one-quarter of his tasks were taken by software that crawled filings and press releases for news and flashed headlines automatically. Another recently unemployed journalist, who requested anonymity to speak on the record, said that as much as 60% of her tasks had become automated over the past few years.”
However, not everyone is ready to doom journalism because of AI. Some actually think AI will save the writerly vocation. “It can do the background research, call contacts to get their statements, report on the daily news cycle and so forth,” says one commentator. This seems to make sense and only muddies the water of AI and it’s general impact on our lives. It is either the end of humanity or the start of a new, wonderful era. It all depends on your perspective.
AI may not write like a crafty NYT or WSJ wizard, but no vacations, no breaks, and no health care. What’s not to like?
Patrick Roland, June 23, 2018
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