Episode 2482: Is AI really about to change the publishing industry?

That Was The Week publisher Keith Teare believes that the publishing industry is about to be dramatically swept away by AI. I’m not sure. Here, for example, is Anthropic ‘s (Claude) 100 word summary of this week’s KEEN ON AMERICA conversation with Keith:

“The conversation between Andrew Keen and Keith Teare discusses OpenAI's new image generation tool that can now integrate text with images—a capability Keith considers revolutionary for publishing and graphic design. Andrew remains skeptical about its creative value. They debate whether this technology threatens graphic designers' jobs, with Keith arguing it will transform publishing workflows. They also discuss Google's experiment showing European users don't miss news content, Nick Denton's views on China, Trump's tariff policies, and Elon Musk merging X with his AI company. Keith highlights how AI is becoming integrated into content creation and publishing.”

This sounds to me as if it was written by a12 year-old. Certainly not the kind of automated intelligence to keep a publisher up at night. However, if I ask Claude for five takeaways about our conversation this week, I get a much smarter response:

Five Key Takeaways from the Conversation with Keith:

* OpenAI's new image generation tool can now integrate text with images—a capability Keith views as revolutionary for publishing and graphic design, while Andrew remains skeptical about its creative value.

* There's debate about AI's impact on creative professions—Keith believes tools like OpenAI's new image generator will transform graphic design workflows, while Andrew argues that human creativity remains essential.

* Google's experiment revealed that removing European news content had negligible impact on user engagement, challenging assumptions about news content's value.

* Elon Musk is merging X (formerly Twitter) with his AI company XAI, which Keith views as a smart financial move that could create a viable competitor to OpenAI.

* Trump's tariff policies, particularly on vehicles, reflect a commitment to using trade barriers to encourage domestic manufacturing, signaling a broader trend toward economic nationalism.

Smarter for sure. Maybe Keith is right. Perhaps traditional publishing companies like Adobe really are about to swept away by the AI revolution.

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