>> ARE YOU CONCERNED AND SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED BY GOOGLE'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT IS TESTING AN AI PROGRAM THAT WILL WRITE NEWS STORIES AND THAT PEOPLE OR ORGANIZATIONS LIKE AP, BLOOMBERG ARE USING AI AS WE KNOW, IT FREED JOURNALISTS UP TO DO BETTER WORK, DO YOU BUY THAT?

WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF A NEW PROGRAM THAT WILL WRITE NEWS STORIES?

>> I THINK THAT'S AN INEVITABLE USE CASE.

AGAIN, I WISH I COULD BE AN OPTIMIST ABOUT THIS.

EVERY TIME I HAVE HEARD THAT REFRAIN THAT THIS WILL FREE PEOPLE UP TO DO MORE IMPORTANT TASKS -- IF THAT WAS THE CASE, WE WOULD HAVE FAR MORE INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, LARGER, MORE ROBUST NEWSROOMS, BECAUSE THOSE BORING, SILLY BOX SCORES WOULD BE WRITTEN BY BOTS.

THE INVERSE IS TRUE.

OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS, IN THE UNITED STATES, ONE IN FOUR JOURNALISTS HAS BEEN LAID OFF OR IS NOW OUT OF THE PROFESSION COMPLETELY.

LOTS OF FORCES ARE CONVERGING ON THAT.

IF YOU ARE CARING ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE FIRST -- A LOT OF THE COMPANIES THAT ARE IN THE JOURNALISM BUSINESS TODAY ARE NOT NON-PROFITS, THEY ARE NOT DOING THIS FOR A PUBLIC SERVICE GOOD.

THEY WANT TO RETURN BENEFITS TO SHAREHOLDERS.

IF THEY SEE THESE TOOLS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CUT COSTS, WHICH IS WHAT THEY WILL DO, THEN I DON'T THINK IT AUTOMATICALLY SAYS, WELL, GUESS WHAT, WE WILL TALK THAT SPORTS WRITER THAT HAD TO STAY LATE AND THAT WOMAN OR MAN IS FREED UP TO DO FANTASTIC, IMPORTANT, CIVICALLY MINDED JOURNALISM, THAT JUST HASN'T HAPPENED.

I DON'T SEE WHY THAT WOULD HAPPEN TODAY.

>> TO PLAY DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, LET ME QUOTE THE OPPOSITE VIEW FROM "THE NEW YORK TIMES" PRESIDENT AND CEO.

THEY SAYS, YOU CANNOT PUT BOTS ON THE FRONT LINES IN UKRAINE TO TELL YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE AND TO HELP YOU MAKE SENSE OF IT.

SHE IS SAYING, WE DO AND WE WILL INVEST IN PEOPLE THAT YOU SAY WILL GET LAID OFF.

>> "THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS A FANTASTIC EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.

"THE NEW YORK TIMES" PERHAPS TWO OR THREE OTHER HUGE JOURNALISM ORGANIZATIONS CAN MAKE THOSE INVESTMENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY FROM DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS.

LET'S LOOK AT LOCAL NEWS.

I WANT TO SAY AN ENORMOUS PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS LIVE IN WHAT ARE KNOWN AS LOCAL NEWS DESERTS.

THEY DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE LOCAL JOURNALISTS WORKING IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD.

WHEN THOSE SMALLER NEWSROOMS ARE UNDER THE GUN TO TRY TO MAKE PROFITS AND TRY TO STAY PROFITABLE, I DON'T THINK THAT THESE PARTICULAR KINDS OF TOOLS ARE GOING TO ALLOW THEM TO SAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND HIRE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING TO GO DO IMPORTANT WORK.

I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE COST CUTTING THAT'S GOING TO COME TO LOCAL JOURNALISM CENTERS BECAUSE THEY WILL SAY, WE CAN JUST USE A BOT FOR THAT.

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE COME TO THE WEBSITE FOR?

TRAFFIC AND WEATHER.

GUESS WHAT?

WEATHER IS AUTOMATED NOW.

WE CAN PROBABLY HAVE AN ARTIFICIAL ROBOT OR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE KIND OF FACE LIKE YOU OR ME JUST GIVE THE TRAFFIC REPORT IF THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE OR ANYTHING ELSE.

>> YOU KNOW, YOU LEAD ME RIGHT INTO THE NEXT QUESTION OR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE SOME NEWS ORGANIZATIONS, TV STATIONS, YOU AND I WORK FOR TV STATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN ASIA, ARE STARTING TO USE AI ANCHORS.

HERE IS A CLIP FROM ONE IN INDIA.

>> WARM GREETINGS TO EVERYONE.

I AM THE FIRST AI NEWS ANCHOR.

TUNE IN FOR OUR UPCOMING SEGMENTS WHERE I WILL HOST LATEST NEWS UPDATES COMING IN FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

>> YIKES.

>> YEAH.

THIS IS JUST THE FIRST GENERATION OF I WANT TO SAY THIS WOMAN, BUT IT'S NOT.

HER PRONUNCIATION WILL IMPROVE.

SHE WILL DELIVER NEWS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES WITH EASE.

YOU KNOW WHAT?

SHE'S NEVER GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT LONG DAYS.

THESE ARE SIMILAR CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS.

I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY AI NEWS PEOPLE UNIONIZE TO TRY TO LOBBY OR FIGHT ORGANIZATIONS FOR BETTER PAY OR EASIER WORKING CONDITIONS.

RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, SAME THING.

YOU COULD SAY IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF ONE OF THESE BOTS CAN JUST GIVE THE HEADLINES OF THE DAY, THE THING THAT TAKES SOME OF OUR TIME UP SO WE CAN BE FREE TO GO DO FIELD REPORTING.

THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IS GOING TO SAY.

MAYBE WE CAN CUT BACK ON THE FIELD REPORTING AND WE CAN HAVE THIS PERSON DO MORE AND MORE OF THE HEADLINES AS THE AUDIENCE GETS MORE USED TO IT LIKE THEY HAVE GOTTEN USED TO PEOPLE VIDEO CONFERENCING OVER ZOOM.

MAYBE PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO MIND.

MAYBE PEOPLE WILL DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE BOTS.

THIS IS VERY EARLY DAYS.

I'M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER A TV CALLED "MAX HEAD ROOM."

WE ARE CLOSE TO THAT POINT.