Media outlets are already taking the plunge. They are pivoting to AI. They like the idea of bypassing the writers, and getting bots to churn out articles.

The articles aren’t very good. But that hardly matters on an advertising-based platform which makes money by the click. They love AI because it can deliver hundreds—or thousands or tens of thousands—of articles in just a few minutes. …

It will fail for the same reason that Upworthy and Buzzfeed and all the previous click-chasing gimmicks failed. There simply aren’t enough clicks to go around.

Remember that song about cane on the Brazos? Google wants all those clicks for itself. And the few clicks that remain out on the free range will gravitate to something better than AI sludge.

[This is a lengthy article, but it’s worth reading in full. Be sure to click on the song, “Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos,” which Gioia uses to make a really good point. It’s a good explanation of why journalism has lost so much trust from its customers, and why people are beginning to really value quality over clickbait. — Ed]