‘Artificial intelligence takes over the work of some MSN editors’

According to ex-freelancers from MSN, their work is being taken over by artificial intelligence. It will pick up trending news stories from partner media, rewrite headlines if necessary and add photos or slideshows. The AI ​​is not going to write pieces themselves.

Microsoft has said goodbye to about 77 freelancers. That write The Seattle Times and The Guardian based on statements by one of the fired MSN freelancers, who want to remain anonymous. “It’s demoralizing to think that a machine can replace us,” said one of them. Tests have been done for some time with artificial intelligence that fulfilled certain functions of the freelancers. In Seattle there are 50 editors and in the United Kingdom about 27 editors, according to the media.

It is not clear how the division of human and automated work currently lies at MSN. In any case, in 2018 Microsoft wrote that it had more than 800 editors worldwide in fifty different locations worldwide.

Microsoft itself has confirmed the farewell to the freelancers, but it does not confirm the move to put artificial intelligence in their place. In any case, MSN still retains full-time editors in Seattle, but how many is unknown. The tech giant emphasizes that the move is not related to the corona virus. In addition to MSN.com, the content can be found in the Microsoft News app for iOS and Android.