German tabloid Bild to replace editorial staff with artificial intelligence

One of Germany's largest newspapers, the tabloid Bild, will replace human workers with artificial intelligence (AI) in several editorial positions, leading to hundreds of job cuts. The Guardian reports that Axel Springer Verlag, the publisher of Bild, sent an email to its employees outlining the implementation of cost-cutting measures amounting to €100 million.

The email stated, "Unfortunately, we will have to part ways with colleagues whose tasks can be performed by AI and/or automated processes in the digital world." According to the email, as seen by rival newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), positions such as editors, print production staff, sub-editors, proofreaders, and photo editors will undergo significant changes.

Back in February, the CEO of Axel Springer SE, Matthias Döpfner, expressed the company's ambition to become a "purely digital media company." He mentioned that AI tools like ChatGPT could make independent journalism better than ever before. Döpfner suggested that AI would soon surpass humans as information aggregators, and only publishers capable of creating the "best original content," such as investigative journalism and original commentary, would survive.

Döpfner had already implemented radical personnel changes in the tabloid, as its sales declined from over 4.5 million copies 20 years ago to just over 1 million last year, following a series of scandals. The influential daily newspaper, often compared to the British publication Sun due to its sensational and highly politicized reporting, had to dismiss its former editor, Julian Reichelt, over allegations of covering up sexual misconduct and harassment.

Earlier this year, Döpfner had to apologize after leaked texts revealed his attempts to use Bild to influence the recent German elections, presenting his personal views critical of climate action, Covid measures, and former Chancellor Angela Merkel in the newspaper.

The German Journalists' Association (DJV) criticized Springer's plans, warning that the job cuts at Bild would "kill the group's cash cow." The move was described as "not only antisocial towards employees but also extremely foolish from an economic perspective" in a statement.

Bild is not the only publication with such intentions. Earlier this year, the American website BuzzFeed announced its intention to use AI for "enhancing" content and online quizzes. UK newspapers, including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express, have also expressed interest in exploring the potential of AI utilization.

As The Gaze reported, European Parliament took a significant step towards the official adoption of the world's first comprehensive set of rules regulating artificial intelligence (AI) technology.