Microsoft Will Replace Dozens of News Contractors with A.I. Digital Trends

Microsoft will not renew the contracts for about 50 news production contractors, who were told that they would no longer be needed beyond June 30, multiple sources told the Seattle Times. The workers are tasked with identifying trending news stories from publishing partners, and optimizing content by rewriting headlines or improving accompanying images. The manual curation of articles allowed for clear and appropriate headlines, while avoiding unreliable sources and highlighting content from smaller outlets. Full-time news producers who are performing the same functions will be retained, but all contracted news producer jobs were eliminated. Some of the contractors, who wish to remain anonymous, told the Seattle Times that A.I. will take over their responsibilities at MSN.