The tool, internally known as Genesis, can gather information – details about current events and generate news content.
According to reports, Google believes it can serve as a personal assistant for journalists, automate tasks to free up time for others, and sees it as a technology that can help distance the publishing industry from the pitfalls of A.I.
Jen Kaiser, a Google spokesperson, stated that “in collaboration with news publishers, especially small outlets, we are in the early stages of exploring ideas that can provide tools supporting AI to help their journalists in their work.”
“Simply put, these tools are not intended, and cannot, replace the vital role journalists play in reporting, creating, and fact-checking,” she added. Instead, they can provide options for headlines and different writing styles.
News Corp’s spokesperson said in a statement, “We have an excellent relationship with Google, and we appreciate Sundar Pichai’s long-term commitment to journalism.”
Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor and media commentator, said that Google’s new tool, as described, has potential advantages and disadvantages.
“If this technology can provide reliable information in a credible manner, journalists need to use the tool,” said Mr. Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
“If, on the other hand, it is exploited by journalists and news organizations on topics requiring cultural understanding,” he continued, “it could harm not only the credibility of the tool, but also of the news organizations using it.”
News organizations worldwide are debating whether to use artificial intelligence tools in their newsrooms. Many, including The Times, NPR, and Insider, have informed employees that they intend to explore potential uses of A.I. to see how it can be responsibly implemented in the news field with high stakes, where every second counts and accuracy is paramount.
But Google’s new tool is sure to raise concerns among journalists who have been writing their own articles for decades. Some news organizations, including The Associated Press, have already used A.I. to produce articles on various topics, including corporate earnings reports, but they remain a small part of the articles compared to those created by journalists.
Artificial intelligence can change this and allow users to create articles on a much larger scale, which, if not carefully reviewed and checked, could spread misinformation and influence the way traditionally written stories are perceived.
While Google has been aggressively moving forward to develop and deploy generative A.I., the technology also poses several challenges to the advertising industry. While Google traditionally fulfilled the role of information curator and sent users to publishers’ sites to read more, tools like its chatbot, BERT, present fixed facts that are sometimes inaccurate and do not direct traffic to more authoritative sources, such as news publishers.
The technology was introduced as governments worldwide called on Google to give the news tools a larger share of its advertising revenue. After the Australian government tried to force Google to negotiate with publishers on payments in 2021, the company created additional partnerships with news organizations in different countries as part of its News Showcase program.
It is still unclear whether Google’s new tool will be an integral part of news channels, but it certainly piques interest.
We will continue to update on developments.
