An AI Bot Named James Has Taken My Old Job

It always seemed difficult for the newspaper where I used to work, The Garden Island on the rural Hawaiian island of Kauai, to hire reporters. In a spacious studio overlooking a tropical beach, James, a middle-aged Asian man who appears to be unable to blink, and Rose, a younger redhead who struggles to pronounce words like “Hanalei” and “TV,” presented their first news broadcast, over pulsing music that reminds me of the Challengers score. “But watching people talking about a subject—this is engaging.” The Caledo platform can analyze several prewritten news articles and turn them into a “live broadcast” featuring conversation between AI hosts like James and Rose, Shatner says. “Keep journalism local.” Another just reads: “Nightmares.” When Caledo started seeking out North American partners earlier this year, Shatner says, The Garden Island was quick to apply, becoming the first outlet in the country to adopt the AI broadcast tech. In recent decades, the paper has been passed around between several large media conglomerates—including earlier this year, when its parent company Oahu Publications’ parent company, Black Press Media, was purchased by Carpenter Media Group, which now controls more than 100 local outlets throughout North America.