Anti-Waymo campaign relied on op-eds written with AI
The AI detection service Pangram found that many of anti-Waymo newspaper opinion pieces were written with a significant amount of AI input.
Opponents of AI-powered vehicles have been employing artificial intelligence to promote their cause in the news media, according to recent reports. They have launched a comprehensive campaign, placing op-eds in local news outlets, arguing that autonomous taxi company Waymo could lead to job losses, endanger riders, put the government at risk of information disclosure, and disrupt fire services.
Many of these op-eds were generated using AI, but crucially, none of them disclosed that AI was involved in their creation. The PR firm responsible for drafting some of these pieces also claimed full ownership and credit for the final content. Despite the use of AI, several writers, like Michael Redmond from the San Francisco Chronicle, maintain that AI is simply a tool they use to enhance their work, much like any other modern writing aid.
Meanwhile, the Daily News and Dallas Morning News have acknowledged the problem and are planning to tighten their AI-related policies to ensure only human-written content is published.
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