After layoffs and an AI scandal, CNET's staff is unionizing

CNET, the venerable tech site which began publication nearly 30 years ago, has become the latest digital media company whose staff have chosen to band together and demand more. The CNET Media Worker's Union (CMWU) today sent a letter to Red Ventures, the private equity concern which purchased CNET in 2020, seeking recognition of a bargaining unit of nearly 100 workers including editors, writers, and video producers. According to CMWU, a supermajority of those in the unit signed union authorization cards.Like the overwhelming majority of other organized digital publications, the workers who make up CMWU are responding in large part to an increasingly hostile financial climate in the industry. CNET has not been spared the same tumult that has led to the shuttering of Buzzfeed News and VICE's decision to file for bankruptcy: the company went through three brutal rounds of layoffs over recent months, the most recent of which stripped approximately a dozen staffers from the masthead. "We lost a lot of really great reporters," Laura Michelle Davis, an editor with CNET and organizing committee member, told Engadget.According to Davis, that sense of uncertainty led to a number of voluntary departures, but also to the surviving staff choosing to organize. Despite those cuts, according to the union's statement sent to management today, staff have continue to be "subjected to ongoing restructuring, cost-cutting austerity measures, shifting job roles and promotion freezes." CMWU has... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-05-16 16:13:18 UTC ]
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Other news stories related to: "After layoffs and an AI scandal, CNET's staff is unionizing"


All the big tech layoffs of 2023

The tech industry is reeling from the combination of a rough economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and some obvious business missteps. And while that led to job cuts in 2022, the headcount reductions have unfortunately ramped up in 2023. It can be tough to keep track of these... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-10-16 15:52:41 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: Voice-controlled AI copilots could lead to safer flights

Siri and Alexa were only the beginning. As voice recognition and speech synthesis technologies continue to mature, the days of typing on keyboards to interact with the digital world around us could be coming to an end — and sooner than many of us anticipated. Where... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-10-15 14:30:20 UTC ]
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Talking AI at Frankfurt: A Look at Some of the Programming Ahead

The upcoming Frankfurter Buchmesse has programming looking at many aspects of artificial intelligence and related issues. The post Talking AI at Frankfurt: A Look at Some of the Programming Ahead appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-10 16:46:37 UTC ]
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The Messenger Pens AI Partnership to Verify Its Reporting Quality

The general interest news publisher The Messenger, which launched in May with an ambitious vision for its reach and revenue, has penned a multiyear, multimillion-dollar partnership with the artificial intelligence company Seekr, according to president Richard Beckman. Among other elements of the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2023-10-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Creator review: A visually stunning, yet deeply shallow, AI epic

Equal parts Terminator, The Golden Child and The Matrix prequel, The Creator is yet another sci-fi epic about a war between humans and AI, one told by someone who just can't shut up about their time backpacking across Asia. Director Gareth Edwards clearly understands the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-09-29 17:30:21 UTC ]
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Hands-on: Windows 11’s new AI tools aren’t ready for prime time

AI will change the way that we work. Or so says the most fervent purveyors of the tech, which now includes Microsoft. But after seeing ChatGPT, Dall-E, and other AI systems integrated into the latest versions of Windows 11, Office, and the company’s Microsoft 365 platform, I can’t say that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-09-26 17:00:00 UTC ]
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Judge orders trial for copyright case between Thomson Reuters Westlaw, AI rival

Thomson Reuters has accused Ross Intelligence of improperly copying data from its Westlaw legal-research division to train an AI-powered competitor. A jury will decide the case, a judge ruled this week. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2023-09-26 12:13:41 UTC ]
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Publishing execs express concern over generative AI’s impact on traffic and IP protections

Publishing executives shared their honest and unfettered opinions on the rise of generative artificial intelligence technology and its impact on traffic, IP protections, content production and jobs at the Digiday Publishing Summit last week. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-09-25 04:01:00 UTC ]
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An AI Game of Thrones prequel? No wonder George RR Martin’s raining ice and fire on ChatGPT | Tim Adams

Authors have entered a war over words with OpenAI for using their books as ‘training’ feedstockBattles between human and artificial intelligence are no longer science fiction. The strikes in Hollywood led by the united guilds of actors and screenwriters have a common, intangible enemy: the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-23 15:03:31 UTC ]
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Generative AI vs. Copyright

Publishing attorney Lloyd J. Jassin examines what artificial intelligence will mean for the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon restricts authors from self-publishing more than three books a day after AI concerns

The company announced the new limitations after an influx of suspected AI-generated material was listed for sale but said that ‘very few’ publishers will be affectedAmazon has created a new rule limiting the number of books that authors can self-publish on its site to three a day, after an... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-20 16:22:58 UTC ]
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‘It could have me read porn’: Stephen Fry shocked by AI cloning of his voice in documentary

Actor warns about dangers of artificial intelligence after discovering version of his voice based on Harry Potter audiobooksStephen Fry has issued a warning about the potential dangers of AI, after claiming that a history documentary faked his voice without his knowledge. Speaking at the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-20 16:05:11 UTC ]
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TikTok now lets creators label AI-generated content

TikTok is rolling out a toolset that lets users label posts that have been created or enhanced by artificial intelligence. This move comes after the social media giant added a number of filters for video uploads that made heavy use of AI, and an image generator to help create unique backgrounds.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-09-19 15:45:36 UTC ]
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9 free AI tools that run locally on your PC

It’s no coincidence that many programs using artificial intelligence techniques are open source and thus completely free. This is because the early approaches originated in academia, where free licences for software are common practice in order to promote collaboration and further... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-09-18 11:30:00 UTC ]
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More Authors, Including Michael Chabon, Sue AI Developers Over Copyright

The claims in the new suits are nearly identical to claims in two previous author class actions filed over the summer by writers, alleging the companies used unauthorized copies of their books to train their AI models. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-publishers must declare if content sold on Amazon’s site is AI-generated

Retailer announces new rules for its Kindle Direct Publishing forum after complaints about AI-produced works being sold under human writers’ namesAmazon has introduced new rules and guidance for Kindle books generated by artificial intelligence tools, including the requirement that authors... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-11 17:08:53 UTC ]
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Mushroom pickers urged to avoid foraging books on Amazon that appear to be written by AI

Sample of books scored 100% on AI detection test as experts warn they contain dangerous adviceAmateur mushroom pickers have been urged to avoid foraging books sold on Amazon that appear to have been written by artificial intelligence chatbots.Amazon has become a marketplace for AI-produced tomes... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-01 16:32:27 UTC ]
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US Copyright Office opens public comments on AI and content ownership

The US Copyright Office (USCO) wants your thoughts on generative AI and who can theoretically be declared to own its outputs. The technology has increasingly commanded the legal system’s attention, and as such office began seeking public comments on Wednesday about some of AI’s thorniest issues... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-08-31 17:02:25 UTC ]
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How publishers like The Marshall Project and The Markup are testing generative AI in their newsrooms

Publishers including The Marshall Project and The Markup shared case studies of how they’re using generative artificial intelligence in their newsrooms for more efficient editorial processes – after some failed tests. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-08-29 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Newsroom unions’ return to office negotiations heat up as fall approaches

With the summer season winding down, media companies like The New York Times and Hearst are beginning to push employees to work from the office more regularly, reigniting media unions' years-long efforts to organize around the issue.  Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2023-08-28 04:01:00 UTC ]
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