President of The NewsGuild - Communication Workers of America (TNG-CWA), Jon Schleuss, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the recent joint union letter to ensure workers are protected from employers attempting to replace them with artificial intelligence. Schleuss also talked about the main issues with AI in the newsroom and how journalists are being negatively affected by the implementation of AI written articles.
Several newsrooms have been fighting for worker rights over the past two years, and 2024 has seen 26 strikes for The NewsGuild Locals. Schleuss talked about two different Locals who went on strike at the Long Beach Post and at the San Antonio Report. Both Locals went on strike shortly after successful organizing efforts as employees faced retaliation from their employers, Schleuss said. He then gave an update on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, where employees are still on strike after almost 18 months.
Schleuss, the Newsguild-CWA, the Writers Guild of America East, Writers Guild of America West and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, recently co-authored a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. This letter discussed a desire to provide workforce protection against artificial intelligence. Schleuss talked about several employers who are using artificial intelligence to try and replace journalists with AI-developed stories. He said that AI should be used as a tool for journalists to simplify their tasks, but can not replace journalists in the newsroom.
One of the top issues with the way AI is currently being used comes from the way these AI programs are trained, according to Schleuss. AI is trained to use articles available online, it then combines similar topics and produces an article utilizing parts of those articles without providing attribution to journalists. Not only would journalists not receive proper attribution, but they also wouldn’t be compensated for their work. Schleuss talked about the desire to protect journalists from the blatant examples of plagiarism with the help of the U.S. Government.
Learn more about the letter and AI in newsrooms by listening to the show above.