A major publisher told CNN this past week that AI-written content generators like ChatGPT might soon replace journalists and writers at news outlets.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, whose news stable includes Politico, Insider, and Germany’s Bild newspaper, warned that AI stood to take jobs from human writers.

He said that so-called “aggregate” articles where info was pulled from various sources to create news stories surrounding current events or specialty topics of interest, were already being competently created by ChatGPT and AI competitors.

He also predicted “significant” job cuts “in the areas of production, layout, proofreading, and administration,” while saying that reporters and “specialty” editors were not current targets for cuts.

“In short, the creation of exclusive and attractive content remains irreplaceable and is going to become even more critical to success for publishers,” Döpfner stated, according to CNN. “Only those who create the best original content will survive.”

The Trends Journal has been forecasting the implications and issues surrounding the development and commercialization of AI generative content systems.

We have focused on problematic issues related to wholesale exploitation of copyrighted content, personal data and info, and collective human knowledge by tech companies to narrowly profit themselves, while rendering human workers, knowledge creators and creatives obsolete.

We have predicted AI technologies would soon create wider devastation by increasingly cutting out websites as destination points for finding and consuming content, undercutting revenue for those sites.

Before people became widely aware of programs like ChatGPT and Dall-E imaging, we also detailed how these Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) AI content creation systems were endangering free creative and political expression. 

See, for example:

● “SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY: FUELING AI ASCENDANCE” (3 Aug 2021)

● “AI IS LEARNING YOUR JOB” (24 May 2022)

● “YOU WILL OWN NO SOFTWARE AND BE HAPPY—PART ONE” (18 Oct 2022)

● “YOU WILL OWN NO SOFTWARE AND BE HAPPY—PART TWO” (1 Nov 2022)

● “CREATIVE CONTENT INFRINGEMENT OF DEEP LEARNING AI HAS MONUMENTAL IMPLICATIONS” (7 Feb 2023)

Late Breaking: UK Science Minister Says CgatGPT Should Play Role in Government

The Trends Journal previously reported and forecast that AI wasn’t only coming for jobs, but for roles in governance. (See “THE AI LEGISLATOR YOU DIDN’T VOTE FOR,” 23 Aug 2022.)

Now, a UK science minister is proposing that AI systems like ChatGPT should be used by the government to assist in running the nation.

Michelle Donelan MP, a government minister for the Conservative Party government in Britain, said programs like Chat GPT that use AI have a lot of potential, and authorities shouldn’t be scared to use the technology to assist them.

Those remarks came as artificial intelligence advances in other regions of Europe, according to Breitbart.

This past week, the prime minister of Romania unveiled what he called the world’s first AI government advisor.

Donelan, whose background includes marketing, says officials should begin assessments to determine how to best use tools like chatbots in the work of government.

“We need to think about what is the use for ChatGPT… just like any other organization would as well…

“I think these types of technology are going to create a whole new section of jobs and in areas that we haven’t even thought of, and where this leads us is limitless. Of course we need regulation in place, we need safeguards. But we should never be afraid of these technologies. We should be embracing them and utilizing them so that they can lead to job creation here in the UK.”

The Trends Journal has noted that the use of AI in such a way presents dangers that could more deeply undermine democratic representative government than it already is, given remote globalized authorities, and the influence of elites and NGOs.

It represents another step in ceding authority to technocratic principles, which posit that information, data, and “science”—in this case, powered by deep-learning algorithmic intelligences—should decide policy, and the course of the future.