Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg Journalism in the age of AI (with Dylan Matthews)
Oct 4, 2023
Dylan Matthews, a senior correspondent at Vox and co-founder of Future Perfect, dives into the complexities of journalism amid the rise of AI. They discuss whether large language models can replace journalists, examining their strengths and weaknesses in creative tasks. Dylan explores the historical evolution of journalism, highlighting its partisan roots and current challenges. He also tackles the pressing issue of wealth redistribution in the age of AI, and the risks of superintelligent systems, emphasizing the need for responsible governance.
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LLMs and Journalism
- Some journalism, like war reporting or deep investigative work, is hard for LLMs to replicate.
- Explanatory or analytical journalism, however, is more susceptible to automation.
Marketing Copy Automation
- An entrepreneur replaced three marketing copywriters with a ChatGPT equivalent, claiming comparable quality.
- This suggests LLMs are nearing parity with humans in certain writing tasks.
Industry-Specific LLM Usefulness
- LLMs excel at synthesizing information, but their utility varies across industries.
- Factors like acceptable quality thresholds and the need for nuanced language affect their applicability.