Under a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times discussing the perils of artificial intelligence, there is now an AI-generated rebuttal suggesting AI will make storytelling more accessible. The co-directors of the Archival Producers Alliance, Rachel Antell, Stephanie Jenkins, and Jennifer Petrucelli wrote on March 1 about the troubling implications of AI-generated footage in documentaries. They were concerned that unchecked AI use could undermine visual credibility.
This commentary came during the Academy Awards weekend and was followed by the Los Angeles Times’s novel AI tool, ‘Insight,’ which categorized the argument as politically “center-left” and presented four differing opinions on AI. These responses, which escape the scrutiny of human journalists before publication, are part of the paper’s drive to offer a broader spectrum of views under the guidance of its owner, billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Following an critique of AI on the Times’s site, an AI-generated defense appears, arguing that AI enhances storytelling democracy, technological progress can coexist with safety measures, and that regulation runs the risk of stifling innovation. While supporters of AI see its potential for art and education as outweighing the misuse risks, provided users remain critically engaged, Antell, Jenkins, and Petrucelli declined to comment on the AI’s response.
The Los Angeles Times partners with Perplexity to generate these differing views and with Particle News to analyze the political slant of opinion pieces. Despite Dr. Soon-Shiong’s assertion that this AI content aids the paper’s journalistic mission and helps readers understand pressing national issues, the LA Times Guild, which represents the journalists, is skeptical. They argue AI-generated analysis without editorial oversight won’t improve media trust; it might erode it. The tool currently focuses on opinion pieces, not news reporting, and often provides AI rebuttals to critiques of Donald Trump.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/la-times-op-ed-ai-generated-message
