Google is testing a product that uses artificial intelligence technology to generate news stories, delivering them to news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal’s owner, News Corp, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The tool, known internally by the working title Genesis, can take information — details of current events, for example — and generate news content, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the product.
One of the three people familiar with the product said Google believes it can serve as a kind of personal assistant for journalists, automating some tasks to free up time for others, and that the company sees it as responsible technology that can help steer the publishing industry away from the pitfalls of generative AI.
Several executives who found Google’s pitch troubling described it, asking not to be identified for discussing a confidential matter. Two people said that the effort to produce accurate and artistic news seemed to be neglected.
Jenn Crider, a Google spokeswoman, said in a statement that “in collaboration with news publishers, especially smaller publishers, we are in the very early stages of exploring ideas to potentially provide AI-enabled tools to help their journalists in their work.”
“Quite simply, these tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the important role journalists play in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” he added. Instead, they can provide options for headlines and other writing styles.
A News Corp spokesperson said in a statement, “We have an excellent relationship with Google, and we value Sundar Pichai’s long-term commitment to journalism.”
The Times and The Post declined to comment.
Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor and media commentator, said that Google’s new tool, as described, has potential upsides and downsides.
“If this technology can deliver factual information reliably, journalists should use the tool,” said Mr. Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
“If, on the other hand, it is misused by journalists and news organizations on topics that require nuance and cultural understanding,” he continued, “then it can damage the credibility not only of the tool, but of the news organizations that use it.”
News organizations around the world are grappling with whether to use artificial intelligence tools in their newsrooms. Many, including The Times, NPR and Insider, have notified employees that they intend to explore the potential uses of AI to see how it can be applied responsibly in the news field, where the number of seconds and accuracy are paramount.
But Google’s new tool is sure to cause consternation, too, among journalists who have been writing their own articles for decades. Some news organizations, including The Associated Press, have long used AI to generate stories about matters including company earnings reports, but they remain a small fraction of the service’s articles compared to those generated by journalists.
Artificial intelligence could change that, allowing users to generate articles on a larger scale that, if not edited and scrutinized, could spread misinformation and affect how traditionally written stories are perceived.
While Google has moved quickly to develop and deploy generative AI, the technology has also presented some challenges to the advertising juggernaut. While Google has traditionally played the role of curating information and sending users to publishers’ websites to read more, tools like its chatbot, Bard, surface factual assertions that are sometimes incorrect and don’t send traffic to more authoritative sources, such as news publishers.
The technology was introduced as governments around the world called on Google to give news outlets a bigger share of its advertising revenue. After the Australian government tried to force Google to negotiate with publishers over payments in 2021, the company partnered with news organizations in different countries, under its News Showcase program.
Publishers and other content creators have already criticized Google and other big AI companies for using decades of their articles and posts to help train these AI systems, without paying the publishers. News organizations including NBC News and The Times have taken a stand against AI siphoning their data without consent.