Google is expanding its portfolio of AI products beyond personal, productivity, and developer use cases, venturing into the realm of journalism and news with the development of an AI tool code-named ‘Genesis.’
The New York Times reports that Genesis is an advanced AI tool designed to ingest “details of current events” and other relevant information, enabling it to autonomously generate news copy. Google’s vision for Genesis positions it as a valuable asset to journalists, functioning as a “personal assistant” to free them up for other essential tasks.
Despite its promising potential, the tool’s initial presentation to executives from prominent news organizations, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, has elicited some concerns. Anonymously described as “unsettling” by some of the executives, the pitch seemingly underestimates the intricate effort involved in creating accurate and artful news stories.
The genesis of the Genesis project within Google remains somewhat opaque, leaving speculation about the team or division responsible for its development. The tech giant already offers “Help me write” features in Gmail and Google Docs, alongside other AI capabilities like Bard and Magic Compose, providing contextual assistance in Messages.
The development of specialized language models (LLMs) tailored to a news organization’s writing style is not far-fetched, as demonstrated by OpenAI’s collaboration with the Associated Press to explore generative AI applications in new products and services.
Furthermore, considering the likelihood of Google licensing content from publications for AI training purposes, such partnerships could potentially extend existing licensing arrangements. This would present an opportunity for news organizations to collaborate in harnessing the power of AI to enhance their reporting capabilities.