It’s no secret that Google products are getting worse over the years. The company’s search engine is failing to return actual results to users, YouTube has begun displaying up to 10 unskippable ads before videos, and one of its newest focuses, YouTube TV, massively dropped the ball during the last minute of the last game of the NBA Finals.

Now, that same business is trying to get into the world of journalism.

The tech giant has begun pitching an AI tool to some of the biggest newsrooms in the country, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and News Corp (which owns the Wall Street Journal). The tool is an AI “helpmate” which, according to Google, is “not intended to replace the role journalists have in reporting, creating and factchecking their articles,” instead helping journalists come up with headlines or change their writing styles.

The move is a distinct departure from OpenAI’s partnership with the Associated Press, which allowed the company’s generative AI access to the AP’s archives in order to better learn how to write articles. The Google deal is closer to a “personal assistant for journalists,” according to the Times, as part of an attempt to “steer the publishing industry away from the pitfalls of generative AI.” Still, two executives at the Times said the pitch “seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories.” They should also be worried about the future of the product (if it has one) as Google continues to try to squeeze ever-growing profits out of its projects.

dailypnut.com

AUTHOR PROFILE

People's Tonight