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“AI took my job, literally”—Gizmodo fires Spanish staff amid switch to AI translator

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Summary

G/O Media, the parent company of Gizmodo, recently fired the staff of Gizmodo en Español and replaced their work with AI translations of English-language articles. This has caused some issues, as readers have noticed some translated articles switch languages midway through due to glitches in the AI translation system. There has been criticism of media companies using AI tools to maximize content output while minimizing human labor costs, as the stories can contain factual inaccuracies. However, the use of AI translation technology still cannot fully replace human translators and can cause embarrassing mistakes due to mistranslations.

Q&As

What happened to Gizmodo en Espanol?
Gizmodo en Espanol was shut down and its staff was fired.

How has G/O Media begun replacing the work of its Spanish-language site?
G/O Media has begun replacing the work of its Spanish-language site with AI translations of English-language articles.

What do experts say about the quality of AI-translated content?
Experts say that AI translation technology still can't fully replace human translators and that subtle errors, mistranslations, and lack of cultural knowledge can impair the quality of automatically translated content.

What criticisms have been made of the practice of using AI tools for content production?
The Gizmodo union has criticized the practice of using AI tools for content production as unethical, citing factual inaccuracies in AI-generated articles.

What implications does the loss of original Spanish-language content have for readers?
The loss of original Spanish-language content from Gizmodo en Espanol has implications for Spanish-speaking audiences seeking news about science, technology, and Internet culture, as AI translation technology cannot fully replace human translators.

AI Comments

👍 It is impressive to see how AI technology has advanced to the point when it can be used to replace human labor costs.

👎 It is concerning to see companies replace human writers with AI tools as it can lead to factual inaccuracies and mistranslations.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how Gizmodo fired their Spanish-language staff and replaced them with AI translations of English-language articles. It's part of a trend of media companies experimenting with AI tools as a way to maximize content output while minimizing human labor costs.

Friend: Wow, that's really interesting. I can see why it's controversial within the journalism community. It seems like this could potentially lead to a lot of factual inaccuracies, mistranslations, and lack of cultural knowledge in automated content.

Me: Absolutely. AI translation technology has improved significantly over the past decade, but it still can't fully replace human translators. It's easy to imagine even more embarrassing mistakes due to autonomous translation between languages. It's a worrying trend, and it's likely that we won't see the end of it soon.

Action items

Research the potential benefits and drawbacks of using AI translation technology for media companies.
Reach out to G/O Media and other media companies to learn more about their experiences with AI translation technology.
Follow the Gizmodo en Espanol story to stay up to date on the latest developments and potential implications for other media companies.

Technical terms

AI (Artificial Intelligence): AI is a branch of computer science that focuses on creating intelligent machines that can think and act like humans.
Gizmodo: Gizmodo is a technology and science news website owned by G/O Media.
G/O Media: G/O Media is a digital media company that owns Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, and other websites.
Gizmodo en Espanol: Gizmodo en Espanol is the Spanish-language version of Gizmodo.
AI Translator: An AI translator is a computer program that can automatically translate text from one language to another.
Matias S. Zavia: Matias S. Zavia is a former Gizmodo writer who publicly mentioned the layoffs of Gizmodo en Espanol.
Google Translate: Google Translate is a free online language translation service developed by Google.
Victor Millan: Victor Millan is a journalist and Gizmodo reader who noted that some of the site's new articles abruptly switch from Spanish to English midway through.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): SEO is the process of optimizing a website to increase its visibility in search engine results.
AI-written: AI-written refers to content that has been written by an AI program.