Google working on AI tool that can write news articles, be a personal assistant to journalists

By Abhik SenguptaGoogle is testing a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool that is primarily aimed at journalists. As reported by The New York Times, the AI tool leverages the power of the large language model (LLM), the underlying framework of generative AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and even Google Bard. As expected, the new Google AI tool can assist news publications with writing news articles. The report points out that Google also positions the tool as a personal assistant to journalists.

The report adds that the tool is internally known as Genesis and trains on current affairs to help users write news articles. Google is reportedly pitching the product to mega-news corporations, including News Corp — the owner of The Wall Street Journal. Citing a source, the report highlights that Genesis may help steer the publishing industry away from the “pitfalls of generative AI.” This likely includes producing accurate news articles based on real-time information. Some companies also use their own style sheets and SEO practices, which the AI tool might be able to mimic.

Some executives who saw Google’s pitch are reportedly unhappy with the Genesis AI tool and think the tool takes news-writing for granted. A News Corp spokesperson told the NYT that the company has an “excellent” relationship with Google and that the publication “appreciates” Sundar Pichai’s “long-term commitment to journalism” without confirming details.

It remains unclear how Google’s upcoming AI tool is different from Bard, its ChatGPT rival, which is also capable of generating news articles based on (some) real-time data. It is also possible that Google might leverage AI capabilities powering Google News, plus building a private enterprise-grade Bard to allow journalists to write news articles with some keywords and sensitive information.

Google is yet to confirm the development.

The news comes at a time when many publications have growing concerns about AI taking over jobs and producing false stories. While the use of AI is not unprecedented in journalism, as global news agency The Associated Press uses the technology to generate stories about matters, including corporate earnings reports. However, the adoption has been relatively slower. Many journalists might even fear job loss if AI becomes mainstream in the newsroom.

Apart from Google, Apple is also planning to enter the generative AI space, and some announcements are expected next year. Microsoft is aggressively building and improving Bing Chat with its collaboration with OpenAI — the creator of ChatGPT. Other big tech firms, including Adobe, are also integrating proprietary generative AI models into their existing services.