Details are vague.
Harness on
CNN announced today that it will lay off another 100 staff, or three percent of its total workforce — a decision that CEO Mark Thompson called part of an overall modernization and pivot to video effort. Billed.
And yes, in his memo CNN Employees – as published in full. The Hollywood Reporter – Thompson was sure to point out that a “strategic push into AI” would also be part of the effort.
In the memo, Thompson wrote that he wanted the network. “Taking a Leadership Position in Future News Experiences.” According to the document, the mission will include “a strategic push into AI,” to determine how to safely use this emerging new technology to serve our audiences and our journalistic interests. Targets should be delivered in a more effective and responsive manner.
Thompson didn't elaborate on any specific AI projects, but the mention is important. CNN is a massive and influential news organization, and where and how it uses AI — or, conversely, where and how it chooses not to — sets significant dominoes across the journalism and broadcast industries. Has the ability to do.
“We are going through a revolution in both news and television consumption,” Thompson's memo noted elsewhere. “To me, the right response to this revolution is not despair, but adaptation and innovation.”
Bandwagoner
That said, other major media organizations that have announced AI shifts seem to collectively have something to show for it. Some AI efforts, e.g of CNET Catastrophic attack in mistakenly equipped AI subjects led by the owner of Red Ventures, or USA Today Owner Gannett's publication of extremely low-quality high school sports roundups has been extremely embarrassing and damaging to brands. In the same vein was the mass publication of articles written by fake authors, many of which were generated using AI. Sports Illustrated, Miami HeraldAnd USA Today (again), among many other publishers.
And so far, other AI efforts in media have been equally lackluster. Publications including USA Today (again) And The Washington PostFor example, it has rolled out AI-generated bullet points at the top of news stories. The fact that a human writer could possibly easily set them aside feels functional… well, it feels far less innovative.
Machine learning can have some interesting applications in the reporting process. It is considered an effective tool to help journalists sift through large amounts of data to find patterns, and is extremely useful for audio transcription. By and large, though, most media C-suite statements of AI initiatives — especially those accompanied by mass layoffs — have been followed with content applications publicly, and mostly sloppy. has happened
For now, whatever. CNN The “strategic” AI push will remain unclear. And in the meantime, we'll add Thompson's memo to the ever-growing pile of journalism-dismissal-paired-with-AI announcements.
More on AI and Journalism: Gannett promises to be extremely responsible with the AI before it fully integrates.