The DOOM That Came to Buzzfeed.

Or perhaps it is still just approaching.

This is the panic quote, for given values of ‘panic:’

Jonah Peretti, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, told employees in a memo that they can expect “AI inspired content” to “move from an R&D stage to part of our core business.” Peretti elaborated that the technology will be used to create quizzes, help with brainstorming, and assist in personalizing content to its audience. BuzzFeed, for now, will not use artificial intelligence to help write news stories, a spokesperson told CNN.

That ‘for now’ should be fair warning to Buzzfeed staffers that it’s time to update their resumes, assuming that kids these days still use such things. I mean, as it is the AI is already going to eliminate jobs (humans do the quiz / personalization stuff now). It will not be a remarkable leap for the software to expand its capabilities to the point where it can generate flavorless pap. And when that happens? …Oh, the humanities!

Moe Lane

PS: This would be funnier if the people who will get laid off over this didn’t need to eat and wear clothes.

PPS: Buzzfeed stock went through the roof, proportionally speaking, when the news hit.

PPPS: If we get to the point where AI writes books better than I do? …Well, that’ll be post-Singularity anyway. Guess I’ll just chill at my terraformed Venusian vacation home and learn how to knit buckyballs, or something.

5 thoughts on “The DOOM That Came to Buzzfeed.”

  1. I fully believe that Buzzfeed could have AI write its news stories without real loss of quality.

    Based on my understanding of the capabilities of AI, this should be taken as a damning indictment against Buzzfeed.

  2. I’d feel worse for them, if they hadn’t gloated at the misfortune of others losing their jobs.
    As it is, there’s a certain karmic justice to it.
    But I’m not going to be foolish enough to repeat their error, and celebrate it.

    I get the sense that those preaching The Singularity, would like to wear Ultraviolet, and command an army of kill-o-bots.

  3. “It’d be the first time intelligence of any kind was used to make Buzzfeed content” – me, delivering a joke way too late.

Comments are closed.