Sinclair Generative Artificial Intelligence

[sinklair]

Bucking concerns expressed by most major broadcasters, Sinclair essentially says F-it, we can save a buck by using generative AI to produce news programming.

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/sincl ... e-ai-usage

Sinclair says all the right things… that it wants to ensure accuracy, that it will collaborate with other groups to prevent disinformation, that it will have disclaimers when AI is used to create content.

But what it won’t say is how far artificial intelligence will be used to produce local news programming. It has no guardrails on its “experiment “ unlike most other — let’s be frank — more responsible broadcasters who understand that there has to be oversight into the use of any AI use in local programming.

Will Sinclair start using AI to write newscasts? Will it replace meteorologists with AI bots who can distribute weather warnings? How about getting rid of sports reporters by taking game highlights and post game news conferences to put together game summaries without journalists? The problem is Sinclair sees the technology as efficiencies — where ethicists see problems with unchecked programs that can’t push back and question the narrative it’s generating.

Local journalists who live and work in the communities they cover are trusted sources for information. Sinclair is on the road — using public airwaves — to eliminate news anchors, weathercasters, and sports reporters — while trying to use local stations as its piggy bank to bankroll its operations. Sinclair is pushing a future where journalists— especially in smaller, unprofitable markets where it operates — can be replaced by automated AI generated newscasts.

Sinclair says “trust us”, that they will use the technology responsibly. However it’s history says exactly the opposite.

Can we stop the momentum of progress? No — and we shouldn’t. There’s going to be good uses of AI that will help journalists focus their efforts on digging deeper into complex issues.

But Sinclair is not the pied piper that other broadcasters should trust to follow right over the cliff.

[AndyDufresne]

My man, calm down. It’s just for translating. The use of AI taking over newsrooms is not going to happen. It will be like when newsrooms embraced linear editing. There’s no way you can even replace writers with AI. It’s too editorialized. Plus you need someone to still make edits to AI. so what’s the point?

[sinklair]

Reread the statement from Sinclair.

You are correct that it will start off with translation.

Sinclair had every opportunity to say they are going to limit it to translation. However they didn’t. Why? Because they absolutely have no intention of stopping there.

They have a work group specifically looking at ways to integrate AI in all aspects of its business operations.

[AndyDufresne]

Of course it’s more than just translation. But it’s not a massive job eliminator like many think. If anything, they’ll use it to expect more out of employees, some jobs might be eliminated. But right now, it’s not really all that usable for local stations.

[sinklair]

Agreed, but it’s a slippery slope that will lead to bad places for Sinclair stations

[MWmetalhead]

I agree with sinklair. My fear is this will be an exercise in incrementalism.

Slippery slope is a spot-on descriptor.

[kager]

Instead of running the same story, using the exact same verbiage, 17 times in 4 newscasts per day, perhaps they can do with AI what they refuse or are too lazy to do manually - refresh rewrites.

If so: AI - bring it!

[sinklair]

Or… hire more journalists and pay them a living wage.

AI rewrites don’t solve the problem of not having real coverage of local issues.

[kager]

Or… hire more journalists and pay them a living wage.

AI rewrites don’t solve the problem of not having real coverage of local issues.

Sure sounds like a solution. Let's all know which stations(s) you buy and/or manage and apply it to.

Meanwhile, suggested rewrites to keep a story fresh could be done at story conception (or - at some stations - squeezed in during one of their many 10-minute weather schpeels) and rotated with minimal effort by existing staff. It's a minor tweak that could make on-air product more appealing (or - at least - less fatiguing) to a consumer. Start slow and work it in until it becomes habit.

Or screw staff behaviour modification, and let AI do it for them.

[sinklair]

Kager: I invest my money in businesses with future growth opportunities. That is not local TV until all the corporate consultants and bean counters are let go.