The major investment in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI may close in the very near future. As we’ve been reporting this week over at Fortune, Microsoft is considering a $10 billion investment in the company, on top of the $3 billion that the company appears to have already invested, according to documents and sources. The deal structure, which includes preferential terms for Microsoft and a separate tender offer involving venture capitalists, is all very unusual.
No matter how you look at it, billions of dollars is a lot of money—particularly in 2023, and for a minority investment in a company. It's evident that Microsoft and other investors see enormous potential in OpenAI technology. And hey, it's hard not to. I've been experimenting with ChatGPT myself, and it's exciting to brainstorm all the possibilities of how generative A.I. could help me better research my stories. ChatGPT can already write source code, draft up a compelling email template or party invitation, and help a parent convey to their child the truth about Santa Claus without spoiling the magic of the season. But as of now, there are some self-evident limitations one might expect for an A.I. tool still in the research phase. For example, ask ChatGPT who writes Term Sheet, and the bot will confidently say Dan Primack, who left Fortune more than six years ago to join Axios.
To see exactly what ChatGPT is capable of right now, I asked it to write today’s edition of Term Sheet and weigh in on whether journalists like me could end up being displaced by A.I. technology. Enough from me. Let’s see what ChatGPT has to say:
Hello Term Sheet readers,
Today's topic is the impact of artificial intelligence on the field of journalism, and whether newsletters like ours could be better off if they were written by A.I. instead of by humans.
As a journalist myself, I've certainly seen the effects of automation on the industry. Many newsrooms now use A.I. to write simple stories, such as earnings reports, freeing up reporters to focus on more in-depth, investigative pieces. But as a journalist, I also know that there's something special about the human touch. We bring our own perspectives and experiences to the table, and that can give stories a depth and nuance that an algorithm just can't match.
On the other hand, A.I. has come a long way in recent years, and natural language generation technology like GPT-3 have proven to be great at writing in a human-like way. However, AI is not yet sophisticated enough to replace the human's ability to analyze and make sense of complex data, understand context and find the story that human readers would want to read.
There's also the question of ethics. A.I.-generated news stories may lack the accountability and transparency that comes with a human journalist. The technology is still evolving and not yet fully auditable in its decision-making process.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, most Americans say they don't trust news that comes from A.I. generated sources. Thus, it is not clear if users would prefer newsletter generated by A.I. over human journalists.
That said, I believe that AI will continue to play an increasingly important role in journalism, but it will never entirely replace human journalists. And I believe Term Sheet will always be better off with a human touch.
Thank you for reading and I'll see you tomorrow.
Best, Jessica
How did it do? Not too shabby, although I don’t think I’ll be replaced by a machine anytime soon. In the words of my editor, this is “just a super boring column.”
A conversation with Michelle Davey… Our very own Jackson Fordyce recently sat down with Michelle Davey, CEO of Wheel, a startup that offers companies tools to deliver virtual care. Jackson and Davey discuss Wheel’s trajectory and the best and worst advice received from investors during the economic downturn. Watch the interview here.
See you tomorrow,
Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
