Microsoft News just cut dozens of editorial workers as it moves towards a robot-driven system of selecting stories

Microsoft News has shed dozens of editorial workers this past week as it moves to an AI-driven system of picking news and away from human editors for MSN.com, one of the world's biggest news destinations. People close to the situation said the layoffs impacted all its contractors in the US, numbering around 50, all of whom are employed by staffing agencies Aquent and MAQ Consulting. Calls and emails to those agencies seeking comment weren't returned. A Microsoft spokesperson said: "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic."