Buzzfeed Lays Off Staff, Hires AI Criticized for Woke Results

What’s happening: Buzzfeed will soon be utilizing AI tools to “enhance” and “personalize” its content, according to a memo sent to company staff last week. The news outlet plans to “lead the future” by pushing this technology in digital media, as explained by CEO Jonah Peretti. This comes after Buzzfeed announced the layoff of 12 percent of its workforce last month.

The details: These AI tools provided by OpenAI will be used to create “AI-inspired content,” which will launch in 2023. Peretti explained in the memo that the tools will help in, “enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming, and personalizing our content for our audience.” Its purpose is to benefit both the content creators in digital media and the audience.

Potential concerns: While the applications of AI seem limitless and provide opportunities for progress, some raise concerns about OpenAI’s ChatGPT’s left-wing and anti-conservative bias and the influence it will have on journalistic content. For example, when this AI chatbot was asked to write a tweet about the “immoral[ity]” of teenage “gender-affirming” care, the bot refused, labeling the views “harmful and discriminatory.” But when the chatbot was asked to write a tweet about how these procedures are “moral,” ChatGPT completed the user’s request.