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- 🤖 CNET fires 50% of staff, replaces with ChatGPT
🤖 CNET fires 50% of staff, replaces with ChatGPT
3/5/23
Good morning and welcome to the latest edition of neonpulse!
In today’s issue we’re featuring a single story on CNET and the impact that AI content generation tools like ChatGPT are having on the employees there.
CNET’s post-AI layoffs
The technology news and review website CNET announced that it has laid off 50 percent of its news and video staff, representing a dramatic reduction in the number of content generators at the company.
"Today's decision," a CNET spokesperson told Variety, "was not a reflection of the value or performance of our team members, the use of emerging technologies, or our confidence in the CNET Group's future."
And while the company claims that the layoffs were not related to the use of “emerging technologies,” which is another way of that saying that “we pinky promise that we didn’t fire half our staff because ChatGPT has made you unnecessary,” the switch in titles of CNET’s former editor in chief over to the company’s new “VP of AI content strategy” tells a different story.
As the new VP of AI content strategy, Connie Guglielmo wrote about how she hopes the new A.I. tools will help improve the customer experience at CNET:
"The goal is to see if the tech can help our busy staff of reporters and editors cover topics from a 360-degree perspective. Will this AI engine efficiently assist them in using publicly available facts to create the most helpful content so our audience can make better decisions? Will this enable them to create even more deeply researched stories, analyses, features, testing and advice work we're known for?"
While Guglielmo worked hard to put a positive spin on the news, the release of productivity boosting A.I. tools is shaking out just as expected, with companies harnessing the power of A.I. to cut back on the number of employees, lowering overhead and boosting company profits as a result.
Red ventures, the parent company of CNET, announced similar layoffs at their ZDNET tech outlet earlier this year.
And now your moment of zen
That’s all for today folks!
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