Artificial intelligence is rewriting the media landscape

“At the moment, media companies are mostly using AI to automate complex calculations and tasks,” he says. “Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith, said last week that they would never have an article written by AI … but I’d bet a chunk of money he changes his mind on that.”

“Service-based media, where people are looking for an answer to a specific question, will almost certainly be predominantly AI-driven within five years, if not entirely usurped by some new AI media service.”

Nine, the owner of this masthead, uses AI to recommend shows and movies in its streaming offerings. It is also experimenting with using ChatGPT functionality to produce synopses, headlines and summaries, which director of product streaming, Lewis Evans, says could be used to save space on the interfaces of smaller devices such as mobile phones.

Stuart Fagg, Nine’s director of product, publishing, has seen AI used in basic sport and finance reporting at companies such as News Corp and the Associated Press. But he says the technology still lacks the ability to provide context and generate beautiful prose.

The technology can also determine how much readers pay for content at some publications.

“I’ve worked a lot with the Wall Street Journal, and they did a huge amount of experimentation around what happens if you create a propensity model that assesses whether or not a reader is a hot, cold or medium prospect in terms of subscription,” Fagg says. “Then they can tailor both the price they pay the introductory offer and the amount of free content they get to consume before they arrive at that paywall.”

The use of AI expands beyond companies and services. Journalists – including those at this masthead – rely on technologies such as real-time transcription service Otter.

But the shift towards AI in journalism has not been without its critics. In 2020, Microsoft laid off about 50 editorial staff in its Microsoft News and MSN organisations as it shifted towards using automation and AI for content editing and curation. The move gained notoriety when, in the same month, the company’s software misidentified a member of the British pop group Little Mix.

While AI can fact-check, increase accuracy and improve efficiency, Mirjalili says it falls short in skills such as empathy, creativity and critical analysis.