As IF Times

In the early days of journalism, the ability of a news item to reach the front pages of a journal likely meant that, on the whole, the story had some verifiable truth.  The entire purpose of newspapers was to convey… news.

Competition was quite intense for the mantle of the fastest and most accurate news source and reporters were always after the big scoop that would make their careers.  How quaint such times were since such values and markets have changed dramatically over the past half century.

As we know, the news business has now merged inextricably with the entertainment business and platforms have morphed from the  pulp print press, to TV, video and social networks.  The ‘news’ these days is as much entertainment as it is news. The notion of waiting for the 6 o’clock news to find out what’s happening in the world is as quaint as waiting until the evening to call long distance because rates are cheaper.

Having a limited time to post significant news events to the public meant that news outlets had to condense as much meaningful news as possible into the small window of people’s rapt attention.  Ted Turner changed this entirely by introducing CNN in 1980.  From then on, news did not wait for the 6pm broadcast, it was available 24 hours a day.  Of course we know what’s happened since then.  Numerous other competitors emerged and now technology has given us real time news on independent video and social platforms.  Nowadays, news outlets often source these alternate platforms for their own content.

But as we know, there is only so much relevant news at any given time.  Sure, there are innumerate dog bites man stories, but on the whole, the big picture stories that really affect us do not require a 24 hour barrage of reportage.   So instead, to fill the gap between updates of genuine events, all platforms have utilized what can only be described as filler stories.  To fill the empty times available, all manner of opinion givers, fluff pieces and intellectual detritus are offered in order to try to attract eyeballs and listeners.  We are treated to the utterances of all kinds of nutters as networks try to fill their precious airtimes.

On any given day, on any given platform, we can find all manner of stupidity that would never have seen the light of day in more sane times.  As an example, recently there was a story from the LA Times reporting that white people polluted the air of minorities while driving through their neighborhoods on the way to work.  In another piece of brilliance, a view was expressed on TV that 2 plus 2 equaling 4 was a racist construct.  This kind of detritus actually alienates people from paying attention to any kind of news.  They lump all news from these sources as nonsensical fluff. It’s as if the National Enquirer held editorial influence over all journalism.  As an aside, the Enquirer can’t even be considered a tabloid anymore…they actually report news.

The result is that ‘mainstream’ news providers become less and less influential or relevant while at the same time, targeted topic sites attract viewers.   Information and news has become increasingly balkanized so that people can choose what kind of information they want to consume as they do for specialized topic TV channels.  Many have found refuge in outlets containing only stories about NFL football, or golf or sewing or the latest Kardashian adventure.  In doing so, they automatically tune out all other irrelevant news and unwittingly become ignorant of real world issues.

While this is all well and good, this could well create populations that are ignorant of the events that affect their lives because their information focus is so narrow.  There was a segment on the old Tonight Show with Jay Leno called Jaywalking in which random people on the streets were asked simple questions about common knowledge things.  Often, the respondents, notably college students, failed miserably and comically to have any knowledge of real world events or commonly known facts.   While many of us were amused by the ignorance of such people, I’m not sure it wasn’t a genuine sampling of the general population.  I’m reminded of the classic computer programming maxim: GIGO, which means, garbage in, garbage out.

link: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

For those still hunkered under their beds consumed with worry about the next looming existential threat, the world continues to move forward, despite the efforts by many to impede or shape its direction.  There is a far more concerning issue immediately before mankind and that is the accelerated pace of artificial intelligence capabilities.

The ‘it’ thing at the moment is the increasing awareness of a software interface named ‘Chat GPT’.  While we have been hearing about artificial intelligence for years, this new platform is remarkable because of the scope of its ability and its ease of use.  You do not need to know formal computer-speak to use the interface; it operates using normal language inputs.

The range of subjects is apparently unlimited as people have even used it to write computer code for applications.  Suddenly, students will be able to write essays in seconds rather than cribbing off their pals.  The only clue to the veracity will be the lack of spelling and grammatical errors common among all students these days.  The world will be changed in ways we can’t even imagine, even at this early stage.

As a simple test of its ability, I tasked the program with writing something about Canada’s national broadcasting network, the CBC.  As an aside, the notion that Canada, or any nation for that matter needs a ‘national broadcasting’ outlet is preposterous.  It may as well be Xinhua or Pravda.  Does Canada need an ‘official’ outlet to impart information to the public? Certainly not in today’s world where information is as easy to access as turning on a faucet.

Come to think of it, the CBC’s role is exactly like that of Xinhua and Pravda.  They are all tasked with conveying the ‘official’ version and view of events to ensure that the people think properly; or in the CBC’s case, ensure ‘da Canadian values’.  Ever since the CBC lost the broadcast rights to Hockey Night In Canada, they’ve been searching for a reason to exist.  Without that revenue generator, they would perpetually lose money.  Fortunately, the government subsidizes them every year with buckets of tax money.  According to Perplexity.ai, it costs somewhere between 1 and 1.3 billion dollars a year to run it and approximately 200 million is from tax dollars.

So, back to the Chat GPT discussion.  As an experiment to gauge the ability of the software, I entered “write a humorous article about the outdated need for a national broadcasting company in Canada”.    I entered no statistics, no historical context and I didn’t even mention the word, CBC.  Below is the result, verbatim and it took about 10 seconds.

Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there was a national broadcasting company known as the CBC. It was the go-to source for all the latest news, weather, and sports in Canada. But, as the years went by, technology advanced, and suddenly, the CBC found itself in a bit of a predicament.

You see, the world had changed, and people no longer relied on the CBC for their daily dose of information. With the rise of the internet and social media, the national broadcasting company had become nothing more than a relic of the past.

And so, the CBC found itself in a bit of a pickle. It didn’t know what to do or where to turn. It tried to keep up with the times by launching its own website and even starting a YouTube channel, but it was too little too late.

The CBC realized that it was no longer relevant, and it was in dire need of a makeover. So, it decided to take its fate into its own hands and do the one thing that was sure to bring it back into the spotlight – it decided to embrace its outdatedness.

And that’s when the real magic happened. The CBC suddenly became the most hip and trendy national broadcasting company around. People couldn’t get enough of its old-school charm, and the CBC was once again the talk of the town.

No longer did people dismiss it as outdated and irrelevant. Instead, they saw it as a refreshing change from the constant barrage of information that they encountered every day on their screens. The CBC was the perfect escape from the digital world, and people loved it.

So, the moral of this story is that sometimes, being outdated is not such a bad thing after all. In fact, it can even be a blessing in disguise. So, the next time you find yourself feeling like a relic from the past, just embrace it, and who knows, you might just become the coolest thing around.

In conclusion, the need for a national broadcasting company in Canada may be outdated, but it’s still as important as ever. After all, who wouldn’t want a little bit of old-school charm in their lives every now and then?

While the prose is not exactly the stuff of white papers, it did capture the context of the CBC’s role in our modern society with reference to such as ‘outdated and irrelevant’.  With the advent of free resources as Chat GPT, who needs to spend 1.3 billion on the CBC?