Microsoft lays off dozens of employees as MSN News Stories shifts to AI.Microsoft has laid off dozens of employees due to workforce automation. According to a report by the Seattle Times and the Guardian, Microsoft has laid off dozens of employees after hiring artificial intelligence to help with MSN News Stories.
Microsoft has laid off 50 employees in the US and 27 in the UK. These employees will not work for the company after June 30.
These employees were responsible for selecting, editing and presenting news. However, full-time employees at the company will continue to work as before. In a statement to the Times, Microsoft said that the layoffs of these employees are not related to the ongoing global pandemic. Artificial intelligence selecting news and writing news is nothing new.
However, this is a significant case of jobs being lost because of this in real life.
The question is whether such massive automation will be effective. One employee who was fired by the company expressed concern that the AI would not be able to adhere to strict editorial guidelines, such as promptly removing violent content. This is also the true test of AI, whether it is viable for saving money.
