Jeremy Moeller/Contributor/Getty Images

According to an article from the New York Times, Google is testing an AI tool that can write news content. The article states that Google demonstrated the product to executives at the New York Times, The Washington Post, and News Corp, the owner of The Wall Street Journal.

Google named the product Genesis, though the name is an internal title. Genesis can collect information about current events and produce news articles. According to The New York Times, people familiar with the tool say Google is marketing it as a supplemental tool to journalists, not a replacement for human-written articles.

Also: 5 ways to explore the use of generative AI at work

Allegedly, some executives were not impressed with the tool and believed Google was trying to downplay the knowledge and effort it takes to be a journalist. 

"Quite simply, these tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating, and fact-checking their articles," Jenn Crider, a Google spokesperson, said in a statement. 

Google says the AI tool could help journalists generate headlines and help them strengthen their writing styles.

Also: This is how generative AI will change the gig economy for the better

Some newsrooms have been using AI-generated content for years. For example, The Associated Press uses AI to automate stories that cover corporate earning reports and some sporting events. The Associated Press also uses AI technology to help transcribe audio and video from live events.

But recently, publications that use AI to generate stories that should be reviewed and written by humans received fierce backlash for publishing mistake-ridden, AI-generated content.

Journalism relies on journalists to be knowledgeable and ethical when reporting on the news. Generative AI tools cannot be relied on to do the same, as they can hallucinate or output misinformation.

Also: Need an AI essay writer? Here's how ChatGPT (and other chatbots) can help

Google's Bard, the company's competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT, delivered false information to some users. Although hallucinations are a side effect of the technology in its current form, newsrooms with a prestigious reputation to preserve will likely be hesitant to adopt it widely.

Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI will far surpass what ChatGPT can do. Here's everything on how the tech advancesChatGPT's new web browsing feature is a big disappointment. Use this plugin insteadWhat is Amazon Bedrock? 4 ways it can help businesses use generative AI toolsCan generative AI solve computer science's greatest unsolved problem?

• Generative AI will far surpass what ChatGPT can do. Here's everything on how the tech advances
• ChatGPT's new web browsing feature is a big disappointment. Use this plugin instead
• What is Amazon Bedrock? 4 ways it can help businesses use generative AI tools
• Can generative AI solve computer science's greatest unsolved problem?