In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), media companies are grappling with the use of cutting-edge technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, the integration and acceptance of AI into newsrooms hasn’t been smooth sailing. Internally, various companies have placed strict safeguards against the use of AI, while others are making efforts to embrace the transformative tech.
Some notable highlights include the actions of mainstream media houses such as CNN, New York Times and Reuters. These media companies have implemented measures to prevent OpenAI’s web crawler, GPTBot, from accessing their web content. This step is partially due to the concerns surrounding the use and misuse of their content by AI systems, as voiced by Danielle Coffey, president and chief executive of the News Media Alliance.
Projecting outside of the newsroom, tech giants Samsung and Apple have annulled the internal usage of AI chatbots like ChatGPT. On the other extreme, financial service firms such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have also disallowed the adoption of generative AI tools internally, an indicator of the wide range of corporate response to AI infiltration.
But it’s not all bans and barricades. The entertainment giant Netflix is probing the potential of AI, as shown by their recent job postings for AI roles. Media site BuzzFeed, following an upset in its news division, announced its plans to lean into AI, showing that not all are opposed to AI’s potential.
Yet, the journey of AI incorporation isn’t without its pitfalls. An Irish daily newspaper was tricked into unknowingly publishing an AI-generated article, leading to a forced apology. These situations further underscore the delicate balance between innovation and risk when it comes to AI integration in the media industry.
With concerns regarding unethical AI usage by firms, the tech-savvy consumer isn’t left out of the conversation either. OpenAI only recently launched ChatGPT for businesses, a chatbot boasting four times the power of the consumer version, promising optimal privacy and security standards.
Still, some are not convinced. An IBM blockchain and AI expert warned of key risks the new model posed, especially the risk of sensitive internal data being compromised. The adoption of AI in the media industry thus coalesces into a tantalizing paradox of potential and risk, opportunity and peril. The friction between media companies’ pursuit of innovation and the overarching desire for security makes it clear that they must tread this new path with unerring caution. As we venture further into this brave new world of AI-driven media, one thing is evident- the road ahead is replete with potholes of uncertainty as well as lanes of limitless possibilities.
Source: Cointelegraph
