- Artificial Intelligence will also take over the work of proofreaders and photo editors
- Hundreds of media workers will be laid off
Bild, Germany’s largest publication, will replace some editors with artificial intelligence (AI). This was reported by The Guardian, citing a letter from the publisher to the staff. As a result, more than a hundred media workers will be laid off. These are not only editors, but also proofreaders, photo-processors and print operators.
“Unfortunately, the newspaper will part with colleagues who have tasks that in the digital world are performed by artificial intelligence and/or automated processes,” the statement says.
This is part of Bild’s cost-cutting program. They want to reduce costs by 100 million euros. In addition to reducing the editorial board, the media will also change the structure of the regional newspaper business. In the end, it will lead to hundreds of layoffs.
The chief ideologue behind the change was Matthias Depfner, CEO of Axel Springer Verlag (publisher of Bild).. In February, he said that the media would become “an exclusively digital media company.”. Businessman thinks AI technology will “make independent journalism better, or replace it.”. According to Depfner, artificial intelligence is better at finding information.
Last year, experts estimated that in 22 years, AI will perform 50% of work tasks. This will give the economy an annual growth of $2.6 trillion. However, many people will have to change fields of activity or learn new competencies.