Internationally recognized business news platform, Quartz, has been discreetly compiling reports from various sources, such as TechCrunch, to produce articles written by AI. These articles are published under the banner “Quartz Intelligence Newsroom.”
Quartz’s foray into AI-written earnings reports began several months ago, and has now expanded to include short articles. As of Monday afternoon, they have published 18 such pieces, one of which is titled “South Korea shares preliminary findings on Jeju Air crash investigation.” This report amalgamates coverage by human journalists from CNN, MSN, and The Associated Press on MSN.com.
Quartz’s AI-generated articles average around 400 words and don’t include direct quotes from sources. Unlike human journalists who attribute information within the text body, Quartz’s AI author cites its sources at the beginning of the articles.
A representative from Quartz’s corporate owner, G/O Media, confirmed to TechCrunch the existence of an “experimental” AI newsroom. However, they did not disclose which AI models or tools are used to generate the news articles.
The methodology Quartz’s AI newsroom uses to select stories remains unclear. The representative stated that the intention is to enable Quartz’s editorial team to focus on producing longer and more in-depth pieces. They added that each AI-written article is reviewed by the editorial team before publication.
However, questions have been raised about the quality control, as evidenced by an article last week that Quartz’s AI newsroom sourced from TechCrunch.
The article under scrutiny provides a guide on deleting Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts. It offers a step-by-step guide on how to save and download your data before deleting your accounts.
The Quartz article, titled “How to delete your Facebook, Instagram, and Threads right now,” suggests a similar guide. However, its instructions for account deletion are not as detailed:
To permanently delete a Facebook account, users must navigate to the “Settings & Privacy” section and select “Account Ownership and Control.” It’s important to note that once an account is deleted, it cannot be retrieved. For Instagram, users either use the Account Center or settings to download their data before deleting their profiles. Deleting Threads profiles requires removing the linked Instagram account, as the two are interconnected.
The use of AI in Quartz’s newsroom can be critiqued in various ways. For example, in one headline: “Jobless claims rise slightly as continuing claims set a record,” the wording is confusing and seemingly contradictory.
G/O Media, owned by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, faced criticism in July 2023 for publishing error-laden AI-generated content without any editorial supervision. Despite objections from journalists at G/O-owned outlets like Gizmodo, the company’s editorial director, Merrill Brown, defended the approach.
The use of AI-generated content offers a cost-effective solution for publishers like Quartz. AI doesn’t require salaries or benefits, potentially maximizing profits. The G/O representative revealed that reader engagement with its AI stories has surpassed expectations.
The representative also dismissed rumors of financial troubles, stating that the company is well-funded with sufficient working capital. They added that any staff reductions were due to the sale of some sites in 2024, but Quartz is currently hiring more editorial staff.
G/O Media isn’t the first media organization to experiment with AI-generated content. CNET and Gannett have also published AI-generated stories and artwork, some of which contained factual inaccuracies and were published under fabricated bylines.
