San Marcos State University isn’t checking for prior misdeeds of its so-called independent contractors, says a new California State University Audit.

LAT’s “disinformation” machine?

A wave of sudden layoffs at the Los Angeles Times that sent ripples of fear through the San Diego Union-Tribune — which shares the same owner, LA biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong — has nothing to do with the rise of artificial intelligence, company officials insist, but there are signs to the contrary. In all, 74 newsroom jobs are set to be eliminated, the paper reported on June 7, representing roughly 13 percent of the editorial staff.

Those looking to Kevin Merida to provide insight into reasons for the drastic move were disappointed when the top Times editorial honcho held a question-and-answer session that broke into verbal jousting between Merida and disgruntled staffers. “Asked why the proposed layoffs would disproportionately affect some departments — the copy and photo desks, the audience and audio teams,” per an account on Twitter by the Los Angeles Times Guild, the labor union that represents Times newsroom workers, Merida responded, “There’s just no really good answers.” Noted the Guild feed: “There should be. When our livelihoods are on the line, we deserve good answers.”

Patrick Soon-Shiong’s LAT is not bots —yet.

But Merida was eager to deny that artificial intelligence had anything to do with the layoffs. “Generative AI, this is not part of that, if that’s your question,” he said, according to the Guild account.

Still, a series of PR pieces featuring the likes of Royce Martin, LA Times Vice President of Product, on behalf of Times automation contractor Brightspot, Inc., detail a host of changes made by the company that are causing worries for some. “In 2018, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family bought the LA Times and a handful of local Southern California papers from the Tribune company,” says Martin in one account, posted by Brightspot. “As soon as the deal closed, the Los Angeles Times partnered with Brightspot to design and develop a massive overhaul,” the story adds.

“The result? Replacing, migrating, jettisoning and rebuilding multiple core systems to replatform the Los Angeles Times on a modernized, digital-first foundation.” Added Martin: “This powerful content platform supports a vital core function of their journalism: authoring and storytelling.” Says the piece: “Powered by federated search, a custom front-end, and artificial intelligence, Media Desk essentially eliminates the following issues commonly associated with busy newsrooms: underutilized assets, wasted money, and publication delays.”

Back in April 2019, Brightspot announced the firm was officially adding artificial intelligence to its publishing systems. “Don’t fear for your job just yet. Companies still need content experts, developers, designers, and other real humans to make worthwhile digital experiences.

But AI is becoming an increasingly valuable tool that can help teams work more efficiently and create more compelling content for audiences.” According to that account, “Brightspot has long offered intelligent features such as auto-tagging and auto-migration of content, but the platform has greatly expanded its AI capabilities by partnering with Amazon Web Services.

One of the AWS tools available via Brightspot is Rekognition, which allows for intelligent image and video analysis to identify objects, people, text, and activities. Rekognition also makes it easier to flag inappropriate content, an especially important requirement for publishers on social networks.” Two years ago, in March 2021, Brightspot boasted: “With the right AI tools in place, companies can create the most effective and targeted content for their audiences.”

Despite the reassurances and denials, some continue to worry about the growing AI trend, including UCSD professor of data science and philosophy David Danks. “While Danks, who also serves on the advisory board of the UC San Diego Institute for Practical Ethics, believes there are positive uses for generative AI — such as proofreading, editing or creative and artistic expression — he has grave concerns about the potential of these systems to inflict real harms on society,” says a June 13 post on UCSD’s website.

“These include an upsurge in disinformation — which Danks says could easily have a disastrous impact on the presidential election in 2024 — and the ‘deskilling’ of workers that will take place as the use of generative AI tools becomes widespread. We are, he says, ‘the subjects of a massive experiment.’”

Dark backgrounds

San Marcos State University isn’t checking for prior misdeeds of its so-called independent contractors, says a new California State University Audit — leaving the school open to a host of potential troubles. “We found that the campus did not have a process to consider whether background checks were needed for [Independent Contractors],” according to a May 24 letter from state university Vice Chancellor and Chief Audit Officer Vlad Marinescu to San Marcos president Ellen J. Neufeldt. “We examined contracts signed with 12 [Independent Contractors] and found that background checks were not considered during the IC engagement process.

Three of the ICs we reviewed appeared to require background checks based on the description of the services they provided; however, there was no assessment performed by the campus to determine whether background checks were necessary.” Notes the report: “Proper consideration and performance of background checks for ICs in accordance with CSU policy can reduce the risk of exposure to security breaches and criminal activity, including fraud.”...Republican Amy Riechert, who ran against now-fallen Democratic incumbent supervisor Nathan Fletcher in 2022, and now is running for his empty seat, picked up $1000 for her campaign from Sacramento lobbyist Richard Markuson on June 8.

Candidates are Steppe-ing up to fill Nathan Fletcher’s seat.

Markuson’s Pacific Advocacy Group represents the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of California, and the Western Electrical Contractors Association, according to state disclosure filings. Meanwhile, San Diego city council Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe, running for the same job, has gotten backing from an outfit called PowerPAC, which ran a poll on her behalf costing $15,000, per a June 12 filing. “PowerPAC is a left-of-center lobbying organization based in San Francisco that specializes in voter mobilization. The organization was founded by liberal activist Steve Phillips and largely funded by left-of-center philanthropist Susan Sandler,” says the website Influence Watch. “The organization also professes to represent historically underrepresented constituencies. The organization researches the political landscape it sends money and resources usually regarding local and state legislative fights or ballot initiatives. The organization engages in base building, formulates campaign strategy, conducts issue advocacy, and supports technical infrastructure.”

— Matt Potter

(@sdmattpotter)

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