G/O Media, the parent company of Gizmodo, recently made significant changes to its Spanish-language site, Gizmodo en Español. They discontinued the site’s regular publication and laid off its editorial team. Instead, they have adopted an artificial intelligence (AI) system to translate and generate articles.
Matías S. Zavia, a writer for Gizmodo en Español, announced that the site ceased its regular publication activities on August 29. It now relies on automated translation for content generation. Previously, Gizmodo en Español had a dedicated team of writers who produced original content and translated English-language Gizmodo articles into Spanish.
The newly published articles on Gizmodo en Español carry a disclaimer at the end, indicating that their content has been automatically translated from the original text. Minor variations may occur due to nuances in machine translation. However, the transition to AI translation has encountered challenges. Some readers reported on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), that certain articles would switch from Spanish to English unexpectedly.
The Spanish website AZ Adslzone informed the Gizmodo en Español team of this decision through a video conference. G/O Media has not officially commented on this development. News organizations are using generative AI to create news stories and lists, increasing content production without expanding their writing teams.
G/O Media started AI-generated articles on Gizmodo in July, but factual inaccuracies marred these early attempts, and staff members received information shortly before publication. Journalists across G/O Media’s various platforms express frustration at the publication of AI-generated content without prior notice. The GMG union, representing the company’s employees, has urged readers to refrain from clicking on AI-generated stories.
Gizmodo en Español was established after Gawker Media, the now-defunct parent company, acquired the Guanabee website in 2012. This move marked Gawker’s first venture into international expansion, as reported by Insider at the time.
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