The Los Angeles Times’ Struggle to Regain Trust

The Los Angeles Times, a nearly 150-year-old institution, is facing a crisis under the ownership of billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump. The company has experienced waves of layoffs and editorial interference, leading to low morale among employees. In an effort to improve trust and fortunes, Soon-Shiong has introduced AI-powered tools to label opinion articles with perceived political leanings and provide alternative views.

AI-Powered Bias Meter and Alternative Views

The new labels, which include "Left, Center Left, Center, Center Right, or Right," are determined by an algorithm developed by Particle.News, a startup founded by former Twitter engineers. Additionally, a "Viewpoints" section, powered by AI startup Perplexity, will display alternative views to those presented in an article. These features will apply to opinion pieces and articles that offer a point of view on an issue, while standard news articles will not include the AI features. Opinion-oriented articles will be clearly labeled with a "Voices" tag to distinguish them from straight news reports.

Concerns About Trust and Interference

While experimenting with new ways to improve trust in media is worthwhile, Soon-Shiong’s actions have raised concerns. He has been accused of interfering in reporting, including altering an opinion piece to make it more positive about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and getting involved in an article about a friend’s altercation. The editorial union is not opposed to displaying alternative opinions but believes that AI is not the best approach, as AI-generated viewpoints will not be scrutinized by editors and may contain inaccuracies.

The Risks of AI-Generated Content

The use of AI-generated content poses significant risks, including the potential for made-up facts and quotes to become solidified as "knowledge." The money spent on this endeavor could have been better spent supporting journalists on the ground, who have not received a cost-of-living increase since 2021. Perplexity, the company behind the AI tool, has shown disdain for the journalism industry, scraping articles and regurgitating them without permission.

The Larger Implications

The Los Angeles Times is not the only news organization struggling with the influence of billionaire owners. The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, has also experienced turmoil, with Bezos exerting more control over the opinion section and pivoting towards a pro-capitalism stance. The Post has lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers as a result. The problem lies in the conflicting interests of billionaire owners, who may prioritize their own agendas over the integrity of the news organization. The future of journalism hangs in the balance, as the line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred.