---
title: "Major Newspaper Publishes Op-Ed Written by GPT-3"
description: "The newspaper The Guardian published an op-ed supposedly written by the AI algorithm GPT-3, but human editors had a major role in shaping the final version."
date: "2020-09-08"
modified: "2020-09-08"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/newspaper-publishes-oped-gpt3"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai"
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "gpt-3"
  - "Media"
  - "the digest"
---

# Major Newspaper Publishes Op-Ed Written by GPT-3

![The newspaper The Guardian published an op-ed supposedly written by the AI algorithm GPT-3, but human editors had a major role in shaping the final version.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/newspaper-publishes-oped-gpt3.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Edit Test

In order to show off how sophisticated language-processing artificial intelligence has gotten, the newspaper *[The Guardian ](<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3>)*[commissioned](<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3>) an op-ed written by the algorithm GPT-3.

GPT-3, the latest and most powerful text-writing AI algorithm developed by OpenAI, has made headlines for both its surprising [degree of coherence](<https://futurism.com/grad-student-neural-network-write-papers.md>) and the [poor grasp on reality](<https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/22/1007539/gpt3-openai-language-generator-artificial-intelligence-ai-opinion/>) that's common among AI systems. Now, in the *Guardian* op-ed, it argues — to the best of its ability — AI and humans can live in peace.

## Hype Machine

More accurately, the algorithm wrote the first draft of eight different op-eds that the editors at *The Guardian* then spliced together, picking and choosing the best arguments of each — a fact that, [as *The Next Web* points out](<https://thenextweb.com/neural/2020/09/08/the-guardians-gpt-3-generated-article-is-everything-wrong-with-ai-media-hype/>), you wouldn't know unless you read all the way to the fine print at the end.

https://twitter.com/mjrobbins/status/1303293397147541505

Editing is a normal part of publishing any piece of journalism, but as experts in the field [pointed out](<https://twitter.com/mjrobbins/status/1303293397147541505>) [on Twitter](<https://twitter.com/djleufer/status/1303297899762266112>), having a reputable newsroom hype up GPT-3 runs the risk of misleading the public about an [already-overhyped](<https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence-hype.md>) area of technology.

https://twitter.com/djleufer/status/1303297899762266112

## Oddly Specific

That said, the individual paragraphs within the op-ed were often coherent and resembled what you might find in a human-written argumentative essay, even if a shocking number of GPT-3's talking points mentioned violence and gore.

"Overall, it took less time to edit than many human op-eds," *The Guardian* wrote.

**READ MORE:** [A robot wrote this entire article. Are you scared yet, human?](<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3>) \[*The Guardian*\]

**More on AI:** *[This Grad Student Used a Neural Network to Write His Papers](<https://futurism.com/grad-student-neural-network-write-papers.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

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- [AI Will Give Perfectly Accurate Half-Assed Effort In Writing Your Term Paper](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-perfectly-accurate-halfassed-effort-writing-term-paper.md>)
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