BuzzFeed's Stock Jumped 120% Today After It Announced It Was Going To Write Its Stupid Articles With Artificial Intelligence

Listen, it's not lost on me that I work in the media business. And Dave could decide to replace us all with AI bots at any moment. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a meeting right now figuring out how quickly he can stand up a site that pumps out AI generated Malcolm Smutler blogs and Milmore videos.

That said... fuck BuzzFeed and their dogshit listicles.

WSJ - BuzzFeed said it would rely on ChatGPT creator OpenAI to enhance its quizzes and personalize some content for its audiences, becoming the latest digital publisher to embrace artificial intelligence.

In a memo to staff sent Thursday morning, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Chief Executive Jonah Peretti said he intends for AI to play a larger role in the company’s editorial and business operations this year. 

In one instance, the company said new AI-powered quizzes would produce individual results. 

Mr. Peretti expects AI to assist the creative process and enhance the company’s content, while humans play the role of providing ideas, “cultural currency,” and “inspired prompts,” he wrote in his memo. In 15 years, he wrote, he expects AI and data to help “create, personalize, and animate the content itself,” rather than just curate existing content.

A live look at BuzzFeed right now...

Morale has gotta be at an all-time low at BuzzFeed right now. This must have been how the dudes who used to write books by hand felt when Johannes Gutenberg dropped the printing press on their sorry asses.

Things haven't been great at BuzzFeed for a minute. After going public last year shares have literally gone straight down. Before today the stock was down ~90% from where it started trading.

But look on the bright side, BuzzFeed employees… if you have any stock, BZFD is mooning. Shares closed up 120% on the day, on news that the company is going to start printing content without dealing with insufferable Gen Z "journalists" who file complaints with HR every time they have a deadline that's less than 48 hours out.

And if you think "this will never work… creativity requires human input," consider this: CNET has been using AI to write articles since November. And nobody noticed for months that "CNET Money Staff" was actually just SkyNet giving out money tips.

I am so fucked if this thing masters newsletters.

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