AI Mediocrity is Coming
This is the era of exponential content
Overheard at ON_Discourse
From the editor: Is digital media doomed? The disruptive forces of generative AI are not only changing end-user experiences, they are changing the economic model of all media. The following perspectives come from a dialogue between two executives from global newsrooms.
So far, most newsrooms are generally using AI on the production side. This seems to be the most common expectation for how AI is going to infiltrate digital media. It should come as no surprise that the results so far have been a humiliating disaster. Nevertheless, the public scrutiny that came from these failures will not slow this trend. More AI-generated content is coming to newsrooms and out into your own personal content feeds. The problem is: the more content it generates, the more mediocre it will get.
AI is exponential. Exponents are tricky. AI has proven that it’s really good at creating more content — not good content — just more. But at a certain point there is too much to be processed, even by AI. What happens next?
This will not be a problem for many popular media formats and subjects. Audiences know how to accept “good-enough” content in the right context. Overall I think we’re fine with mediocrity. Media brands run by organizations that are focused solely on short-term earnings cycles will bank on this trend.
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Is Media Doomed?
The internet is mutating. Search queries are being replaced by prompts, and search results are turning into direct information. The web has always been perceived as an interconnected network of sites, but this new internet feels more like a magic mirror: prompt and you shall receive. Does this transition mean media is doomed?
AI Mediocrity is Coming
This is the era of exponential content
Bias is a moat against AI mediocrity
Develop a stronger point of view
News is a service, not a product
This mindset can unlock AI utility in newsrooms.
The future of media is personal
A lot more content is coming
Leverage your data
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Incumbents have an advantage
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AI is not the biggest threat to news
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Bias is a moat against AI
Mediocrity
Develop a stronger point of view
Overheard at ON_Discourse
From the editor: AI-generated content is a cost-saving tool that serves no other purpose. One theme that popped up in our events was the power of a point of view. One of our guests welcomed the rise of mediocre content as a way for legacy brands to stay relevant in a saturated media environment. Can a stronger bias save legacy brands from extinction?
The solution to AI-generated content is a strong point of view. We need to bring bias back to newsrooms.
All of the brands that are experimenting with AI-generated content are dying. Sports Illustrated and the Gannett newspaper titles carry legacy brand value with older generational segments, driving short term marginal revenue. At the end of the day, they will eventually go the way of Life Magazine. In that way, it makes business-sense for the leaders to cut costs on content production. But those brands are dying and they don’t matter to this discussion. Let’s talk about the next generation of media.
If AI content is mediocre and generic, their content should be specific and infused with a strong point of view. Bring bias back!
I care about the media brands that have long-term goals that require growing an audience. These brands should be paying attention to the AI-generated content trend as a way to differentiate themselves with their target audience. If AI content is mediocre and generic, their content should be specific and infused with a strong point of view. Bring bias back!
Media bias is unnecessarily controversial in the US. It is easier in many cases for a newsroom to favor an unbiased product than to acknowledge the sentiments that exist within the newsroom and among its audience. This dynamic creates a barrier between media brands and younger generations. It is widely known in consumer research that younger consumers in their 20s, 30s, early 40s wanted brands to stand for something. It is no surprise, then, that unbiased media is not relevant to the next generation.
Let’s let go of outdated expectations about bias and lean into our differences.