AI chatbots behind news articles pose risk for misinformation

May 02, 2023

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer)

Bias Distribution Powered by Ground News™

AI chatbots have recently been found to be responsible for creating content on a variety of news websites, raising concerns about the potential for misinformation. NewsGuard, a news-rating group, has identified 49 news and information websites in seven languages that appear to have content generated by AI.

“Artificial intelligence tools are now being used to populate so-called content farms, referring to low-quality websites around the world that churn out vast amounts of clickbait articles to optimize advertising revenue,” the NewsGuard report said.

Many of the websites have generic names such as “Biz Breaking News,” “News Live 79,” “Daily Business Post,” and “Market News Reports.”

NewsGuard’s report highlights the issue of false narratives on these AI-generated websites. For example, CelebritiesDeaths.com published an article in April with the headline, “Biden dead. Harris acting President, address 9 a.m.”

The spread of misinformation through such false narratives raises questions about the ethical use of AI in content creation. While many in the journalism world have been anticipating the potential of AI to create content ethically, it appears that there is still progress to be made in ensuring accuracy and reliability.

In other AI-related news, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a noninvasive brain activity decoder that can translate the stories in people’s minds into text.

By analyzing brain activity patterns, the decoder can interpret neural responses and reconstruct the narrative someone is imagining or recalling.

This technology could be beneficial for individuals who are conscious but unable to speak due to physical limitations. However, the potential for misuse and privacy concerns also arise as this technology can access a person’s innermost thoughts.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Journalism, Misinformation, Technology

SHANNON LONGWORTH: AI CHATBOTS ARE NOW WRITING THE NEWS.

BUT, APPARENTLY, NOT WELL.

THE NEWS-RATING GROUP, NEWSGUARD, FOUND 49 NEWS AND INFORMATION WEBSITES THAT SEEM TO BE WRITTEN, IN 7 LANGUAGES, BY AI.

IN ITS REPORT, NEWSGUARD WROTE, “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS ARE NOW BEING USED TO POPULATE SO-CALLED CONTENT FARMS, REFERRING TO LOW-QUALITY WEBSITES AROUND THE WORLD THAT CHURN OUT VAST AMOUNTS OF CLICKBAIT ARTICLES TO OPTIMIZE ADVERTISING REVENUE.”

TYPICALLY, THE SITES HAVE GENERIC NAMES, LIKE “BIZ BREAKING NEWS, NEWS LIVE 79, DAILY BUSINESS POST, AND MARKET NEWS REPORTS.”

THE ISSUE HERE IS THAT SOME OF THE NARRATIVES ON THESE SITES ARE FALSE. CELEBRITIESDEATHS.COM PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE IN APRIL WITH THE HEADLINE: “BIDEN DEAD. HARRIS ACTING PRESIDENT, ADDRESS 9 A.M.”

MANY OF US IN THE JOURNALISM WORLD HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE WHETHER AI CAN SUCCESSFULLY CREATE CONTENT IN AN ETHICAL WAY. BUT IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE WE’RE THERE YET. BY PUSHING FALSE NARRATIVES, THESE SITES CAN SPREAD MISINFORMATION.

WE’RE ALSO SEEING ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT IN AI THIS WEEK…

RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN HAVE DEVELOPED A BRAIN ACTIVITY DECODER, WHICH CAN REVEAL THE STORIES IN PEOPLE’S MINDS. BY ANALYZING BRAIN ACTIVITY PATTERNS, THE DECODER CAN INTERPRET NEURAL RESPONSES AND RECONSTRUCT THE NARRATIVE SOMEONE IS IMAGINING OR RECALLING.

AND IT DOESN’T REQUIRE ANY SURGICAL IMPLANTS—IT’S NONINVASIVE.

THIS TECHNOLOGY CAN BE HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSCIOUS, BUT PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO SPEAK. HOWEVER, THERE ARE ALSO ETHICAL QUESTIONS SURROUNDING PRIVACY AND THE POTENTIAL MISUSE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, AS IT CAN ACCESS A PERSON’S INNERMOST THOUGHTS.