--- title: "Newspaper Fires Two AI Reporters After Bizarre Behavior" description: "Hawaiian local broadcaster and newspaper The Garden Island has fired the two AI bots it recently introduced as its new anchors." date: "2024-11-21" modified: "2024-11-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/newspaper-fires-two-ai-reporters-bizarre-behavior" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai journalism" - "Hawaii" - "the digest" --- # Newspaper Fires Two AI Reporters After Bizarre Behavior ![Hawaiian local broadcaster and newspaper The Garden Island has fired the two AI bots it recently introduced as its new anchors.]() *\Image: The Garden Island\* ## You're Fired Hawaiian local broadcaster and newspaper *The Garden Island* has fired the two AI bots it recently introduced as its new anchors. As *Wired* journalist Guthrie Scrimegour — who was also [previously let go by the paper]() — [reports](), the bots known as James and Rose were let go just two months after making their debut. At the time, the [newspaper made a big fuss]() about becoming the first paper in the country to adopt AI-powered news anchors. James and Rose were the product of an Israeli AI company called Caledo, and quickly made waves for their bizarre and unnervingly monotonous line deliveries (as Scrimegour points out, for instance, James used the exact same matter-of-fact tone for a story about a vigil for a labor massacre and a fall pumpkin giveaway.) The pair also frequently butchered Hawaiian names, according to Scrimegour, and messed up the pronunciation of basic words like "rifle." That's not to mention frequently glitching hands and a terrifying inability to blink. That kind of uncanniness didn't sit well with the *Garden Island'*s audience, many of whom called out the newspaper for replacing human labor with AI. Almost every video the newspaper uploaded to Instagram that depicts James and Rose was immediately panned in the comments. "This is so creepy, extremely uncanny valley," one user [wrote](), commenting on a story about suicide prevention. "This ain’t that," another user [wrote](). "Keep journalism local." ## Tough Job Market Meanwhile, the bots' creator Caledo declared the experiment a success in a statement to *Wired*, and vowed to expand the tech to other newspapers across the United States. "I never like to root against fellow reporters, but I’ll admit I was also happy to see them go," Scrimegour wrote. "While James and Rose did not actively supplant any existing newsroom jobs, I was concerned that the effort diverted resources that could be used on traditional media expenses, like human reporters, photographers, and editors." Unsurprisingly, the "severely under-resourced" local paper was bought out by a media conglomerate earlier this year. Whether James and Rose even managed to save the company money remains unclear. As Scrimegour points out, the newspaper's parent company appears to have not been able to "sell a single ad on the videos." "I wish James and Rose the best of luck in their future endeavors — it’s a tough job market out there," he wrote. **More on AI journalism:** *[Journalist Alarmed When Newspaper Replaces Humans With Glitchy AI Bot]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()