Last week Business Insider quietly rolled out an artificially intelligent “author” and journalists got loud. The company, which is controlled by Axel Springer in Germany, launched a byline page for “Business Insider AI” with a description that the “byline uses generative AI tools to draft news stories so we can bring readers more information, more quickly.”
The union AI subcommittee at Business Insider, which is part of The NewsGuild of New York, quickly activated and started having conversations across the newsroom. They made a flyer and dropped a graphic in person and on social media.
I spoke to Lily Oberstein to learn more. She’s Business Insider’s unit chair and an insights and analytics editor in the newsroom.
Oberstein was at a newsroom product and tech conference when the news broke about the AI byline. At the conference, she was encouraged to hear tech workers discuss the right and wrong uses for AI. When companies identify the problems they have first, and then if AI is a good solution second, they can find areas of opportunity for AI. With a background in tech and data, she knows technology can help us when used correctly.
But over in the newsroom, Axel Springer bosses are trying to use AI like a hammer in search of nails.
The subcommittee had conversations and then quickly formulated a request for information, which is a sort of public-records-like power unionized workers have. Journalists asked questions. And dozens of members piled onto those questions in a newsroom wide reply-all demanding clarity.
“Sources and readers have already expressed concerns about Business Insider’s vague AI policy and this AI author page continues to amplify these concerns,” she said. “We are deeply worried about the effects that this move-fast-and-break-things approach to AI will have on both our newsroom’s reputation as well as our member’s job security.”
In addition to the graphics on social media, members changed their Slack profiles and they posted a statement about the AI byline, which is management’s attempt to undermine journalists’ jurisdiction over journalism.
AI-produced content lacks value.
“Readers want to subscribe to quality journalism coming from our talented, human journalists,” she said.
Then this week Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer’s CEO, came to the Business Insider newsroom to talk about AI. Workers got very short notice and went into overdrive to organize. Visits from the German executives are exceedingly rare. Every chair in the room had a “No Slop in Our Shop” flyer made by the Insider Union.
And Döpfner said the company’s intentions out loud.
“Does it replace jobs here and there? The honest answer is, yes, no doubt about it,” he said, according to status.
Journalists in the room had several questions. Oberstein asked the most important one.
“We’re concerned about pushing AI-generated content on our site – what is your plan for protecting our newsroom’s reputation and our job security?”
Members in the room stood up to show strength in numbers.
Journalists are not dismissing AI outright, they said that day in a joint statement from POLITICO, Business Insider and Business Insider UK. “Our sites and channels should showcase the original work that we humans produce, not the bland words or images that anyone with a ChatGPT account could churn out with ease.”
POLITICO is in the midst of arbitration after misinformation was spread by an AI “tool” rolled out by management. And Axel Springer has been quiet about the secretive deal they inked with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, two years ago.
AI-generated content, along with vague corporate AI policies, will erode trust in journalism and make journalists’ jobs more difficult.
Robots cannot replace reporters.
