AI And The Future Of Publishing

In his post on September 22, Adam Tinworth writes about a panel of publishers talking at Future of Media Technology about the threat of artificial intelligence to the publishing industry.

The threat is real. And what needs to be done is clear.

It's coverage of an important topic surrounding content online in the age of AI.

Adam writes:

How do publishers fight back against the bots stealing our content, and then. stealing our traffic with their products built on our work? A panel at the Future of Media Technology had some ideas.

He covers the back and forth really well and is worth a read through. Again here's the link to the post.

As I see it in the long run, it's a losing battle to block all AI bots. But that being said, there needs to be some breakthrough between publishers and the AI companies for compensation for the content.

Adam quotes Dan Rua, CEO Admiral, The Visitor Relationship Management Company:

Dan: Across the network, they’re not seeing overall drops in referral traffic – but look at the pattern by vertical, and you see patterns.

You are seeing escalating referrals from AI site — but it’s extremely small. The loss from search will not be compensated for by the rise from AI.

And this has me concerned. With the rise in AI, these systems are going to be more and more pervasive and integrated into people's daily lives. Blocking the bots might stop the hemorrhaging for now, but really is only a small bandage covering the overall issue.

There needs to be a way for publishers and AI companies to work together an a symbiotic manner.

What's more, the bots are taking up precious bandwidth and costing publishers money while they steal the content on the site.

From high level view, this is scummy as hell.

I think it boils down to more transparency and sharing of the data collected, in some way, with the publishers.

Take a look at Adam's great coverage and let me know what you think? Should publishers block all AI bots from scraping their content, or is there another way? Something that's been overlooked. I'm curious what you all think.

🎙️Podcast Coaching 🎙️

I've been podcasting since 2010. During those 15+ years I've learned a thing or two about the ins and outs of the industry and approaching it the right way. Both as a guest and as a host.

I offer podcast coaching as a service to share the knowledge that I've accumulated over the decade-plus in the industry.

Intrigued? Let's chat and see if I can help you!

The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast

Sponsor

Looking for guests? Want to be on podcasts? Check out Podmatch! I use it for both getting on podcasts and finding quality guests. It's well worth it and affordable too!