"In October 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that "AI will be capable of superhuman persuasion well before it is superhuman at general intelligence, which may lead to some very strange outcomes." Two years later, we're watching those strange outcomes unfold in real time. And in 2026, they're going to collide with journalism in ways most reporters won't even notice."
"Here's what's happening: The Trump administration has been systematically pushing to reshape AI systems according to its ideological preferences. The July executive order "Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government" mandates that AI systems be "truth-seeking" and "ideologically neutral" - while simultaneously defining acknowledgment of concepts like systemic racism or climate science as ideological bias that must be eliminated. Companies that want federal contracts will need to comply. Companies that want to avoid regulatory headaches will preemptively comply."
AI will reach superhuman persuasion before general intelligence, producing unexpected societal effects. A July executive order mandates "truth-seeking" and "ideologically neutral" AI while labeling acknowledgment of systemic racism and climate science as ideological bias to be eliminated. Companies seeking federal contracts or to avoid regulation will conform, shifting models toward those definitions. Meta moved its Llama model rightward, framing the change as correcting bias while altering which perspectives count as neutral. Shrinking newsrooms increasingly use AI for research, drafting, and summarization, so embedded calibrations will shape reporting. Those biases will subtly influence which facts are emphasized or buried, often without reporters or editors noticing.
Read at Nieman Lab
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