--- title: "Leaked Memo Claims New York Times Fired Artists to Replace Them With AI" description: "The New York Times' union is claiming that the paper is firing human artists to replace them with artificial intelligence." date: "2024-06-14" modified: "2024-06-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-york-times-fires-artists-ai-memo" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai art" - "Media" - "the digest" - "The New York Times" --- # Leaked Memo Claims New York Times Fired Artists to Replace Them With AI ![The New York Times' union is claiming that the paper is firing human artists to replace them with artificial intelligence.]() *\Image: Spencer Platt via Getty / Futurism\* ## Redundancies Amid its [ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI](), the *New York Times*' union is claiming that the paper is firing human artists to replace them with artificial intelligence. In a [memo obtained by *The Wrap*](), the New York Times Guild said that firing nine out of the newspaper's 16 artists "reflect\[s\] a broader mindset that puts cost savings over people and the quality of our work." As the union maintains, shrinking the *NYT* art department by more than half represents one of the paper's largest AI-driven staff reductions to date, during [an industry-wide reckoning]() with the burgeoning technology. As *The Wrap* points out, these job cuts come even as the [newspaper sues OpenAI and Microsoft]() for using its copyrighted work without permission to train large language models (LLMs). These firings occurred, notably, after the paper [spent $1 million on the lawsuit](). In a statement, a representative for the *NYT* claimed that art department staffers were offered voluntary buyouts and that the cuts were not driven by a desire to replace human workers with AI. Strangely, however, the paper also refused to deny that the reductions were related to Claro, the software the company uses that [per its website]() contains "applied AI image intelligence." ## Award-Winning Despite editorial insistence that Claro is "industry standard," the Guild argues that the work created by the *NYT*'s artists cannot be replicated by AI tech as it stands today. "They work on every editorial image that appears in the print newspaper, which earns more than 30 percent of this company’s revenue," the union emphasized in its memo. "Cutting nine human roles and expecting that work to be done by software is a troubling instance of our members being replaced by technology, at a moment when the company’s dabbling in AI threatens the security of other essential jobs." In statements about the *NYT*'s excellence in artistry, guild members pointed out that the newspaper recently won nine gold medals from the Society for News Design, suggesting that its industry standing hinges on its art. "The *Times* has staked its reputation on being a standard bearer for honest visual and print journalism," art department editor Chris Kahley said in a statement to *The Wrap*. "The trained professionals in our department have played a vital role in these efforts, and Claro is not up to the task." "Discarding dedicated staff who constantly help make the *New York Times* the visual showcase it is, is cruel," Audrey Razgaitis, the art director for the paper's Print Hub section, declared. "I thought we were better than this." **More on AI layoffs:** [*Microsoft Lays Off 1500 Workers, Blames "AI Wave"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()