Sky News has created and tested its first-ever AI news reporter to experiment whether generative AI (GenAI) could replace the role of a journalist.“Generative AI undoubtedly has the world in a spin, as experts grapple with its increasing sophistication, and the resulting threats it presents," Tom Clarke, Science and Technology Editor for Sky News, said. "Our experts got right to the heart of the debate, putting AI to the test to see if it really could replace our jobs."
The AI reporter was created in partnership with Norwegian YouTuber and coder, Kris Fagerlie, using ChatGPT and other publicly available AI software in an effort to explore the realm of artificial intelligence. Upon analyzing the abilities of the AI-powered reporter, Sky News found that the technology was able to pitch an accurate impartial story idea within one 20-minute software run.
The experiment also found, however, that the AI reporter made critical mistakes, fabricating expert evidence for its piece in a case of AI Science hallucinations. Through the trial, the studio concluded that the story would require human intervention to uphold ethical and editorial standards.
As ChatGPT responds to text prompts, Fagerlie and Sky News created two “agents” for the experiment, mimicking a reporter and an editor so it could prompt itself throughout the process. The resulting AI reporter was tasked with pitching eight different story ideas, before prompting itself to research one, identify expert spokespeople and even source AI-generated images. The result was it was able to produce 300-word, AI-generated news article and accompanying 90-second TV report.
AI software has become increasingly popular within the past six months as experts continue gathering research about its benefits and limitations. Sky News’ experiment is intended to provide insight into the real-world capabilities and opportunities of AI journalism, alongside the risks of this powerful technology. "Language and video generating AIs proved they are so powerful now they could comfortably replace some of the tasks we do. But, I think it’s fair to conclude that the imagination and rigour of real-world journalists means my job is safe for now," Clarke said.