On Thursday, Jan. 26, Buzzfeed shared that it will begin to use artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company OpenAI’s resources for its content creation. The news and entertainment platform expressed that this allows for the personalization of quizzes and other content.
“In 2023, you’ll see AI inspired content move from an R&D [research and development] stage to part of our core business, enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming and personalizing our content for our audience,” CEO and co-founder of Buzzfeed Jonah Peretti said in a blog post, the Wall Street Journal reported. He continued that he would “share more soon” with the public.
In December, the company announced that it would be cutting its staff by 12% in an attempt to slash costs, citing economic challenges that Peretti predicts will persist well into 2023. It appears that OpenAI’s technology has the ability to overtake almost the entire workforce; however, Buzzfeed will not yet be utilizing AI to write its news stories.
“Over the next three years, the future of digital media will be defined by two major trends: creators and AI,” Peretti said. “We will help shape these trends to create massive value for our audience, our employees and our shareholders.
This news, along with an announcement of a partnership with the parent company of Facebook, Meta, sparked a jump in Buzzfeed’s stock, which rose about 150% on Thursday. However, the company’s stock has struggled since it went public in December 2021. Since then, it is down about 80%, even with Thursday’s surge, according to Forbes.
OpenAI’s technology is growing increasingly popular—especially with the emergence of ChatGPT, a language processing tool that can write original content. However, Buzzfeed will use OpenAI’s application programming interface (API) software that is also available to the public.
This announcement sparks the question if other news and entertainment outlets will also begin to embrace AI to enhance their content. “To be clear, we see the breakthroughs in AI opening up a new era of creativity that will allow humans to harness creativity in new ways with endless opportunities and applications for good,” Peretti expressed. “In publishing, AI can benefit both content creators and audiences, inspiring new ideas and inviting audience members to co-create personalized content.”
The technology news website CNET recently used AI to write its stories; however, it ended in a disaster. Its human team was forced to review the AI-generated articles after media outlets uncovered significant errors and plagiarism. Since these findings, the site has faced heavy backlash and negative press. Only time will tell if Buzzfeed will fall to a similar fate.
