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https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/01/overwhelmed-by-all-the-generative-ai-headlines-this-guide-is-for-you/>
"Between Sydney “tried to break up my marriage” and “blew my mind because of
her personality,” we have had a lot of journalists anthropomorphizing AI
chatbots lately.
TIME’s cover story decided to go even further and argued: “If future AIs gain
the ability to rapidly improve themselves without human guidance or
intervention, they could potentially wipe out humanity.” In this scenario, the
computer scientists’ job is “making sure the AIs don’t wipe us out!”
Hmmm. Okay.
There’s a strange synergy now between people who hype AI’s capabilities and
those who thereby create false fears (about those so-called capabilities).
The false fears part of this equation usually escalates to absurdity. Like
headlines that begin with a “war” (a new culture clash and a total war between
artists and machines), progress to a “deadly war” (“Will AI generators kill the
artist?”), and end up in a total Doomsday scenario (“AI could kill Everyone”!).
I previously called this phenomenon – “Techlash Filter.” In a nutshell, while
Instagram filters make us look younger and Lensa makes us hotter, Techlash
filters make technology scarier.
And, oh boy, how AI is scary right now… just see this front page: “Attack of
the psycho chatbot.”
Tweet from the author showing the Daily Star's "ATTACK OF THE PSYCHO CHATBOT"
front page headline stating "ATTACK OF THE STUPID TABLOID"
It’s all overwhelming. But I’m here to tell you that none of this is new. By
studying the media’s coverage of AI, we can see how it follows old patterns.
Since we are flooded with news about generative AI and its “magic powers,” I
want to help you navigate the terrain. Looking at past media studies, I
gathered the “Top 10 AI frames.” They are organized from the most positive
(pro-AI) to the most negative (anti-AI). Together, they encapsulate the media’s
“know-how” for describing AI."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
