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NYT - Conversational AI

NYT AI Newsroom: Echoes of Hype

NYT's AI newsroom launched with tools like Echo, GitHub Copilot, and Google Vertex AI. Is it hype or echo?
2025-02-19
Updated 2025-03-13 09:25:02

Key Point Summaries

  • NYT rolled out AI tools like Echo on Feb 17, 2025, for newsroom tasks, led by Zach Seward and Sam Dolnick.
  • Echo summarizes articles and briefings, joined by GitHub Copilot, Google Vertex AI, and OpenAI’s API for editing and coding.
  • Strict rules ban AI from drafting articles or using copyrighted material, keeping humans in charge.
  • Despite suing OpenAI, NYT’s embracing AI internally, sparking staff skepticism and X buzz about hypocrisy.

NYT’s AI Newsroom: Echoes of Hype or a Real Game-Changer?

The New York Times (NYT) is diving headfirst into the AI swamp, greenlighting tools like their in-house “Echo” and a squad of big-name platforms to juice up its newsroom. Announced this week (Feb 17, 2025).Is this the future of journalism or just another shiny toy for the suits? Let’s tear it apart, with names, links, and the dirt from today’s chatter.

The Big Reveal: AI Tools Hit the Newsroom

NYT dropped the bomb via an internal email on Feb 17, per Semafor. Editorial director Zach Seward and deputy managing editor Sam Dolnick are spearheading this, rolling out “Echo”—a custom AI built to summarize articles, briefings, and internal chatter. It’s not alone; they’ve okayed heavy hitters like GitHub Copilot for coding, Google Vertex AI for product dev, NotebookLM, NYT’s own ChatExplorer, and even OpenAI’s non-ChatGPT API—with legal’s nod.

What’s It Doing? Grunt Work, Not Genius

Echo and pals aren’t writing Pulitzer pieces—yet. NYT’s training video (leaked to The Verge) shows staff using AI to crank out SEO headlines, social copy, news quizzes, FAQs, and even interview questions—like “What should I ask a startup CEO?” Reporters can suggest edits, summarize docs, or analyze company PDFs. Moneycontrol says it’s about “efficiency, not replacement”—echoing your Zonos hands-on grit.

The Rules: Human Leash On, AI Off the Rails

NYT’s not letting AI run wild—guidelines from May 2024 (NYTCo) keep it tight. No drafting or heavy rewriting articles, no paywall dodging, no third-party copyrighted stuff (sorry, leaked PDFs), and no AI pics or vids without labels. “Factual info vetted by journalists” is the mantra—editors check everything, per eWeek.

The Backstory: Lawsuits and Hypocrisy?

Here’s the kicker—NYT’s suing OpenAI and Microsoft (since Dec 2023) over ChatGPT gobbling their content without permission, per Tekedia. Now they’re cozying up to AI internally? The irony - suing for copyright while Echo munches their own articles. Staff ain’t all in, some told Semafor they’re skeptical of “lazy headlines” or errors, still salty from AI firm Perplexity’s strike jab last year. Humane flop take vibes here, hype’s a killer when it’s half-baked.

Verdict: Echoes of Promise, Whiffs of Hype

NYT’s AI newsroom, Echo, Copilot, Vertex, isn’t rewriting journalism; it’s a turbo boost for grunt work, with human reins tight. NYT’s got the gear, but proof’s in the output. Lawsuit hypocrisy stinks, but if Echo nails it, who cares?

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