The Los Angeles Times announced on Monday that it is
fielding an AI-driven feature called Insights that some observers have referred to as a bias meter.
Insights is designed to “identify where the views expressed may fall in the
political spectrum,” owner Patrick Soon-Shiong wrote in a letter to readers. Specifically, it analyzes Voices content, which includes “anything written “from a personal
perspective,” Soon-Shiong adds.
The AI function has already caused trouble, according to The Guardian.
In one case, an article mentioning the Ku Klux Klan described the
racist group as a product of “white Protestant culture,” without getting into the racism. The Insights function was moved from the article.
The Guardian also looks
askance at the description of an opinion piece that “generally aligns with a Center Left point of view.”
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Insights is designed to offer readers "an instantly accessible way to
see a wide range of different AI-enabled perspectives alongside the positions presented in the article," Soon-Shiong wrote.
The Times also debuted “a new effort to ensure that
readers can readily distinguish opinion-driven content from our news reporting,” Soon-Shiong reported. “Any content written from a point of view may be labeled Voices, which helps to
strengthen the separation between what’s news and what’s not. Voices is not strictly limited to Opinion section content. It also includes news commentary, criticism, reviews, and
more.”