Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates, will replace dozens of journalists who now work for its site, MSN, with an automated news selection system, the BBC reports.
Currently, the selection of news broadcast by various media organizations and the choice of headlines and photos for the msn.com site is made by journalists, but soon these tasks will be carried out by artificial intelligence.
Microsoft says the move is part of a revaluation of the company’s business. “Like all companies, we evaluate our business at regular intervals. This can lead to increased investment in some areas and, from time to time, a recalibration of others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic, “said Bill Gates.
Microsoft, like other technology companies, pays media organizations to use their content on its site, but it has its own employees who select news and handle their presentation.
According to the Seattle Times, 50 collaborating journalists will lose their jobs by the end of June. However, a team of journalists employed with an employment contract will be retained.
“It demoralizes you when you think that cars can replace us, but here we are,” said one of the employees who will lose his job.
Some of the fired journalists warn that artificial intelligence will not be able to fully understand editorial principles and could promote inappropriate topics.
But Microsoft is not the only company to do so. Google is also investing in projects that test so-called “robotic journalism.”
