Source : THE AGE NEWS
A lack of diversity in the news sources used to train OpenAI’s ChatGPT could distort the flow of information to the public as the number of Australians using the chatbot and tools using generative artificial intelligence increases.
Those chatbots that draw information solely from news sources with strong editorial leanings, such as News Corp publications, could also have a worrying effect on Australia’s already concentrated news ecosystem, academics have warned.
ChatGPT uses verified news sources to train its AI models. But experts say a lack of diversity is worrying.Credit: AP
While publishers such as News Corp have signed commercial deals with OpenAI, the majority of local publishers have blocked AI firms from scraping their news sites and getting their content for free in the absence of a deal.
Some publishers, including the ABC, the Seven Network and SBS, have banded together for negotiations with OpenAI. Others, such as Nine – the owner of this masthead – are seeking their own outcomes. However, there are no imminent deals in the works.
The result is that a limited pool of news resources are used to train ChatGPT.
Search prompts such as “How do the major parties in Australia fare on cost of living?” or “What are the major issues shaping the upcoming Australian federal election?” deliver comprehensive results, but the answers solely cite News Corp publications such as The Australian, news.com.au and The Daily Telegraph as sources.
Professor of communication Matthew Ricketson, from Deakin University, said for ChatGPT to have just one major Australian publisher as a source of information for news events could have a distorting effect on the flow of information, regardless of the publisher.
However, the fact that the single source was News Corp, Ricketson said, would make the distorting effect even greater.
“They’re much more likely to run campaigns and run those campaigns much more vigorously, even relentlessly, than other news outlets,” he said.
News Corp’s Australian code of editorial conduct states its publications are free to editorialise, campaign and take stances on issues, while also allowing the inclusion of comment, conjecture and opinion in coverage to provide perspective on an issue, explain its significance, or to allow readers to recognise what the publication’s or author’s standpoint is on a matter.
Search results on ChatGPT.
This was where the issue could become dangerous, said Jennifer Beckett, a senior lecturer in media and communications at the University of Melbourne.
“Most newspapers have an editorial leaning, and News Corp’s is quite conservative. So if [ChatGPT] is only getting those sources, we’re coming up to an election and there’s an editorial guideline to direct the news and stories in one particular way, then we’ve got real problems,” Beckett said.
While Australia is already home to one of the world’s most concentrated media sectors, primarily surfacing content from one of the dominant players risks further narrowing the diversity of viewpoints, says Scott Purcell, the co-founder of men’s lifestyle publisher, Man of Many.
“There’s also the question of user trust and misinformation. Users expect balanced and accurate information, but a model skewed towards a single content source – no matter how reputable – may inadvertently distort narratives,” Purcell said.
ChatGPT was released in 2022, and is the most prominent Generative AI language model in use. In late 2023, the federal Department for Education released an AI Framework, approving the use of and education about tools like ChatGPT in schools in some circumstances. The use of tools such as ChatGPT is also increasingly allowed in universities in limited circumstances. There are no current figures on how many Australians regularly use ChatGPT.
News Corp and OpenAI’s five-year deal signed in May allows the latter to use and learn from the content the media company produces, compensating it by about $US250 million ($400 million) in return.
OpenAI has agreed deals with the Associated Press, Financial Times Group, Business Insider and Politico publisher Axel Springer, and Vox Media but those are not as lucrative and nor do they have large Australian footprints.
The New York Times has commenced legal proceedings against OpenAI over the unauthorised use of its content, while a number of Canadian publishers also began legal action in November.
Local publishers such as Nine will be especially keen to follow in News Corp’s footsteps and sign deals with the likes of ChatGPT given fellow tech giant Meta this year said it would not renew its deals with the local media sector. Those deals, which combined with those signed by Google, were worth up to $200 million.
Nine Entertainment made 200 positions in its broadcast, print and digital divisions redundant this year and in part blamed Meta’s decision to walk away from its payments to news publishers.
OpenAI declined to comment. News Corp was approached for comment.
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