Microsoft is laying off dozens of journalists and editors working on its Microsoft News website, MSN.com and the front page inside Edge browser to replace them with Artificial Intelligence (A.I).
The company, on Thursday, issued a statement saying it will replace part of its editorial team working on its Microsoft’s SANE (search, ads, News, Edge) division.
Microsoft has been relying on journalists to curate and pick news content featured on the front page of MSN.com, one of the world’s largest news websites, Microsoft News and inside Edge.
“Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others,” says a company spokesperson in a statement.
Although this is concurrent with other media layoffs that have been seen in the past few weeks due to covid-19, Microsoft says the pandemic has not influenced its decision.
“These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic,” says a company spokesperson.
About 50 journalists in the U.S. have been affected and about around 27 in the U.K.
The latest news is just a tip of the iceberg of the incoming future free of human workers and original content across MSN.com, Microsoft News and inside Edge.
The U.S. tech giant has been seen lobbying the use of A.I in the publishing industry. They are not the only ones, though. Other tech companies are also giving the use of A.I in journalism a thought. Google, in particular, has gone a step further funding projects to help educate journalists on the power of A.I.
