Welcome to The Upgrade

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, which focuses on the intersection of AI, media, and storytelling. A special welcome to my new readers from Nebraska Public Media, AffinityX, Vox, and many other top organizations — you’re in good company!

In today’s issue:

• The Week’s Top AI Stories 📰

• 🎓 AI Fundamentals now 30% Off until March 1st!⚡️

• Tech Reporter Melissa Perenson on AI ethics and reliability

The Week’s Top AI Stories

Top AI Headlines

• ChatGPT Went Berserk, Giving Nonsensical Responses All Night — Gizmodo

• Google pauses AI-generated images of people after ethnicity criticism — The Guardian

• Reddit reportedly signed a multi-million content licensing deal with an AI company — Engadget

• Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups — The New York Times

Regulation & Policy

• As Congress lags, California lawmakers take on AI regulations — NPR

• US Justice Dept names first AI officer as new technology challenges law enforcement — Reuters

• 'AI godfather', others urge more deepfake regulation in open letter — Reuters 

Ethics & Safety

• Google Restricts AI Images Amid Outcry Over Chatbot’s Treatment of Race — The Wall Street Journal

• GPT-4 developer tool can hack websites without human help — New Scientist

• Tinder Owner Signs ChatGPT Deal. Enjoy the AI Dating Tidal Wave — Gizmodo

Legal & Copyright

• Bobbi Althoff deepfake spotlights X’s role as a top source of AI porn — The Washington Post

• Why The New York Times might win its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI — Ars Technica

• How AI copyright lawsuits could make the whole industry go extinct — The Verge

Voices: AI Video & Film

• Tyler Perry Puts $800M Studio Expansion on Hold After Seeing OpenAI’s Sora: “Jobs Are Going to Be Lost” — The Hollywood Reporter

• OpenAI's Sora isn't the end of Hollywood, some filmmakers say — NBC

• When A.I. Can Make a Movie, What Does “Video” Even Mean? — The New Yorker (Opinion)

• AI-generated video is here to awe and mislead — Vox (Opinion)

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💡Tech Reporter Melissa Perenson on AI

Melissa Perenson is a freelance tech journalist who covers products, services, and innovative technologies–including AI. She’s a former editor at Forbes Vetted and PCWorld, and her work has appeared in SlashGear, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, and other outlets.

Peter: Based on your experience tracking technology trends and product reviews, how do you see AI tools evolving to meet the specific needs of media professionals such as journalists, designers, and PR pros?

Melissa: I think the real potential for AI for media professionals lies with its potential to complement existing processes and enhance workflows for greater efficiency. AI can free human creatives to focus on what they do best: Creating. I hear a lot of talk about using generative AI as an editorial or artistic shortcut, but ultimately it’s the underlying grunt processes that AI can, and will, transform.

Peter: Reflecting on the recent odd responses and malfunctions reported by ChatGPT users this week, what lessons can media professionals take away?

Melissa: With all the attention on generative AI’s magic halo, this latest ChatGPT-goes-berserk episode only underscores its relatively fragile ecosystem. If ChatGPT and its generative AI competitors want to become integral to our everyday workflows, these technologies need to be consistent and reliable—the same level that we expect from any tentpole in our infrastructure. And this latest episode underscores that AI is still a work in progress. Media professionals, indeed all professionals, need to proceed with caution when integrating AI tools into workflows. Imagine building an entire system dependent on an AI model that can change on a whim, taking the underpinnings of your newsroom’s workflow with it (for example).

Peter: With your background in technology journalism, how should media outlets address the ethical considerations of using AI tools in content creation, especially in maintaining transparency and avoiding misinformation?

Melissa: The ethical minefield of AI is real, and media outlets should proceed very, very cautiously. At this stage of the game, using AI remains controversial. Outlets that tried to use AI in the past year were held to task for doing so. Any outlet considering using AI for journalistic content needs to weigh the perceived convenience of doing so against the potential damage to their reputation. 

AI tools may make creating images, charts, graphics, and text simple, but journalists must maintain integrity and reader trust. Transparency and disclosures regarding AI use will go far toward keeping readers engaged.

Peter: Given the rapid pace of AI advancements, what strategies would you recommend to media professionals to stay informed and ahead of AI trends without feeling overwhelmed or falling behind?

Melissa: Lots of generative AI tools are free or have free components. Start to play around with these tools to get a sense of how they work and how they might be able to help you.

Don’t be shy—hit reply if you have thoughts or feedback. I’d love to connect with you!

Until next week,

Peter

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