The « world’s first » entirely AI-generated news site is here. It’s called NewsGPT, and it seems like an absolutely horrible idea.
The site, according to a press release, is a reporter-less — and thus, it claims, bias-free — alternative to conventional, human-created news, created with the goal of « [providing] unbiased and fact-based news to readers around the world. »
« For too long, » Alan Levy, NewsGPT’s CEO, said in the release, « news channels have been plagued by bias and subjective reporting. With NewsGPT, we are able to provide viewers with the facts and the truth, without any hidden agendas or biases. »
Okay. While we understand that a lot of folks out there are frustrated with the modern news cycle, there are about a million problems with what this guy is doing, the least of which being that there are some glaring transparency problems here — which is pretty incredible, given everything that he claims to be railing against.
First and foremost, while its title suggests that it might be using a version of OpenAI’s GPT — the Large Language Model (LLM) that powers OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT chatbot — Levy fails to ever actually disclose which AI program he’s using to power NewsGPT. All the release says is that NewsGPT is powered by « state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms and natural language processing technology » that’s allegedly « able to scan relevant news sources from around the world in real-time. »
« It then uses this data, » the press release reads, « to create news stories and reports that are accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased. »
Great. Sure. But again: what is it? It matters! AI software doesn’t just spring into existence. Models are conceptualized, built, and programmed by humans, and disclosing which humans are making the underlying tech seems like it should be pretty important to Levy’s alleged mission.