AI has begun generating fabricated journalism that was published by reputable outlets and later removed. Multiple articles attributed to a person named Margaux Blanchard appear to be fictional creations produced or aided by AI. Examples include a Wired piece quoting a non-existent digital celebrant and a Dispatch pitch about an invented town called Gravemont. The emergence of convincingly written fake reporting raises concerns about the erosion of reporting's distinct skills, the spread of misinformation, and editorial verification failures. Simultaneously, AI promises scientific acceleration and efficiency for mundane tasks, while also posing environmental and ethical costs.
It's one of those topics that comes up over drinks or dinner at the moment: whether or not you think AI is going to steal your job. So far, I've felt relatively confident that while AI could no doubt have a fair crack at writing a newspaper opinion column, there is something I do as part of my work that AI cannot: reporting.
Except now, it seems, AI is claiming to be doing that as well. Last week, it was revealed that at least six reputable publications have had to take down published articles because it turned out that they were probably pieces of fiction written by AI and then passed off by somebody as works of journalism under the name of Margaux Blanchard.
When I get into social conversations on subjects like ChatGPT, I try to fight the red mist that descends on me. I hate ChatGPT. And I call it hatred because it provokes a physical reaction in me of something just below real anger. I don't find it scary, or annoying, or confusing. I hate it. So I've been trying to get to the bottom of what it is exactly that I hate.
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