Google Reportedly Paying Publishers to Promote AI-Generated Articles

Google is reportedly paying certain independent news publishers to feature AI-generated articles. This move, aimed at improving an upcoming AI model, has sparked debate about journalistic integrity and transparency.

AdWeek’s recent report reveals that Google has agreed with several publishers to publish AI-generated content using tools provided by Google for 12 months. In return, they will receive a monthly payment that will amount to a five-figure sum annually.

Adweek also claims that the move is part of the Google News Initiative, which aims to help smaller publications generate “aggregated content” using data from various sources like government agencies and local news outlets.

Google’s Agreement with Publishers

However, concerns have been raised about Google’s methods. Allegations suggest participating publishers must “compile a list of external websites that consistently produce reports and news related to their readership.” Moreover, the publishers are signed without consent, which means data is scraped without notification.

Although Google doesn’t require publishers to label AI-generated content, they must meet specific targets like three articles daily, a weekly newsletter, and a marketing campaign per week.

While Google has partially confirmed the report, it denies that the AI tools will use information from external outlets. The new AI tool was reportedly announced earlier this month, but details about which publications use them remain undisclosed.

Google CEO on “Gemini AI” Blunder

Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the company’s AI mistakes in a memo, acknowledging problems with the Gemini image-generation feature. The tool allows users to input prompts to create images. However, it faced backlash due to historical inaccuracies discovered by users online.

Pichai described the issues as “problematic” and admitted they “have offended our users and shown bias.” He stressed that such outcomes are unacceptable and that Google is committed to improving.

The company promptly took the feature offline for further testing and plans to relaunch it after addressing the concerns. Pichai assured that teams are working carefully to make necessary improvements, including bringing a clear set of actions and structural changes.

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