I’ve been on Interlochen Public Radio‘s email list for awhile. For a small radio station, they have brought quality journalism to me again and again. They are passionate about what they do. I’ve come to trust them as a news source. When I read the following article, it felt like validation of one of the things I fear and despise about AI: their scrubbing the internet and harvesting intellectual property.
On July 16, IPR reporter Maxwell Howard writes:
Earlier this spring, a new local newsroom appeared in Grand Traverse County seemingly overnight. The site, called Prism News, publishes two to six local stories a day under the bylines of nearly 40 journalists.
But here’s the catch: None of those reporters are human. Instead of traditional reporters, the site copies and rewrites the work of other outlets through artificial intelligence.
In fact, the Grand Traverse Prism news site is just one of more than 200 AI-generated publications run by Prism across the United States. Prism has one other news site in Michigan, in Iron County…
I strongly urge you to read the rest of the article HERE. It simply defies belief that this is happening right now. Please please please check your news sources’ authenticity and please please please do not support any entity that is connected with this wholesale thievery. We can’t just roll over when it comes to the theft of intellectual property by AI tools used by unethical humans.
Listening to the podcast, I learned the term for these kinds of sites is PINK SLIME NEWS. YUK! Also, Prism News is Israel-based and has just 4 employees.
Tao-Talk 
Shocked I am not, but saddened.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hear you, YD.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow… that is really so unethical, Lisa. We really need to check the news’ authenticity before reading their news. Sadly, we are now at the AI times, and I have witnessed this happen. I’m now being more cautious; I don’t blindly trust newsrooms. Thanks for sharing this useful info! ☺️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aptivi, yes, it is. Trying to feed the public garbage is bad enough, but stolen and maimed quality journalism in the process is inexcusable. I’m glad you found the information useful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly, Lisa. It’s really inexcusable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The old saying used to be, “Believe non of what you hear and half of what you see.” These days, with AI, it should be updated to read, “Believe none of what you hear, read, or see.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
AMEN to that, Fandango. I recently added a 4th monkey to the 3, one looking down at a cellphone, where they hear/read/see nothing. How do I add one for AI? Put them in an “AI Box” with X’s through them all? So disturbing!!!!!!!
LikeLike
This is disgusting: AI News!! Thanks for sharing Lisa. We need to be careful what we read today for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally agree, Colleen. Please feel free to share if you want to.
LikeLike
AI is taking over. “They” have all of your info as soon as you plug into the internet, copying everything, sorting and we are helpless to stop it unless you can live off the grid. If you plug in, you’re being seen, heard and , probably recorded and added to millions of others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
UGH!!!!!!! I’m getting fed up with it.
LikeLike
Lisa, everything I read now I question until I am confident it is real…at least as confident as I can be under the circumstances.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It gets harder to get site traffic with Google AI too – can scrape info from your site so that people don’t actually need to visit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ugh!
LikeLike
Tao-Talk is a creative personal blog curated by a philosophical Daoist. The blog explores an eclectic mix of themes, serving as an online artistic journal.
Google knows all about your blog!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Where did you find that? I like it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s Google’s AI mode, if you search for Tao Talk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting!
LikeLike
I agree that we should not support this slime and grime AI news stealing approach
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the worst of the worst! I really don’t think it can go any lower, other than it driving real news places out of business. But if they do, who will they steal from?
LikeLiked by 1 person
good point – hmmmm
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree Li. And I don’t use AI or use its images. Not even watch the AI generated cute cat videos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy you agree, Sadje.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, my youngest daughter is a computer engineer and she explained to me that using AI has lot of disadvantages- using a massive amount of resources, replacing the human effort with machines and depriving the world of human creativity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadje, your daughter is articulate and wise. I would expect no less with a mom like you <3 I'm glad she is in the field so she can fight against it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you dear friend. Yes, she is a wise woman and very concerned about our environment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
<3
LikeLiked by 1 person
♥️♥️♥️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the key issue with AI is not the technology itself, but how people choose to use it. Responsible use can help creators and individuals explore new ideas while reducing unnecessary barriers. Tools like [Senzia](https://www.senzia.cc/image-to-video) are examples of how AI can support creative workflows by helping users transform images into engaging video content.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maurice, that always seems to be the issue. For example, a knife can be very useful when cutting up vegetables for dinner. Unfortunately some humans use it for evil. Should we get rid of all knives? No. AI is a different kettle of fish. Humans with unethical motivations will never use it in a responsible way, and there is so much at stake. BAN AI is my belief.
LikeLike
What bothers me most is the attempt to pass rewritten material off as original local reporting. AI should never be an excuse to erase the journalists who actually did the work. I work with Pixcraft, and this is an important reminder that creative tools need clear sourcing, consent, and honest labeling. Thanks for sharing this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lylla, one of the many shortcomings of AI use. So many bugs/issues with it that need to be worked out with the last part of your comment, but look at how old and out of tech touch our federal government is, so don’t hold your breath. You are welcome on the share.
LikeLike