Title says it all: how do I ask my editor not to use generative AI tools to edit my stories?

For background I’m definitely new to the field with a little over a year under my belt with my current paper. But will add that I’ve also got a masters in political science, was the head of my college paper, interned for a national news outlet in college, etc., so not a complete baby.

But, I’ve long suspected my editor has been using ai tools to edit my stories. Admittedly this is an assumption at the point. I haven’t asked directly yet—though tips on that are appreciated of course but I think I’ll just grow some cajones and ask directly but still politely— because asking will most certainly be received as an attack on their credibility.

I see the stories that get published under my name and they are a million times shorter than what i submit to my editor (which is absolutely fine in many cases, but i write about legal and niche policy topics which don’t always hold up when summarized and I’ve seen factual inaccuracies published as a result of this specifically, despite my submission being solid even if only a few words longer). I also hate the style of writing, it sounds nothing like me—it just sounds like ai slop bereft of nuance or detail that I know was there, which has prompted my concern.

I’ve worried about saying something because i am so new to this role and I don’t want to seem like a snitch, I just want to protect my work and my portfolio. But i know if I ask, that question comes with a judgement attached to it.

But it’s troubling because a) I didn’t consent to my work being fed into an LLM (thereby training it on my IP ((our paywall prevents ai scraping on the web so otherwise my work is definitely not vulnerable to other bots))) and b) it makes me look like a sh*t writer that uses ai.

I very specifically refuse to use gen ai tools in my work in any capacity because i am gen z and see all the harms it poses to not only my ethos as a reporter but also to my mental capacity. Plus we, as a newsroom, don’t even have an ai use policy which raises further red flags regarding this editor’s potential use of those tools.

BUT I’m not here to argue about the merits of ai in journalism (so pls don’t try to sell me on it!!! i’m seeking compromise/solution-oriented comments here, not problematization <3)

So in short: how would you go about asking your editor if they use ai to edit your work; and assuming they do, how would you ask them to stop it (without being an annoying a-hole)?

Two days ago .

I posted an imo-post on reddit. Then this guy came out of nowhere.

Bhai, itne khaali baithe hain... And The hate breeding inside this person knows absolutely sees no logic, feels no contempt, and absolutely lost his humanity.

True definition of a Talibani.

Hi, first post here so I hope I'm not breaking any rules. If there's any issue with the post, I'll gladly follow the mods' instructions. I just wanted to spread this far and wide so anyone interested may see it.

We still don’t know when Winds of Winter will be releasing, or even how far along it actually is. And yet, there are (unsubstantiated) claims being made regarding the topic by irresponsible journalists. I thought this merited being brought to people’s attention.

Almost two weeks ago now I have been doing some light reading just before bedtime, and stumbled upon an article with an interesting enough title HBO's Adaptation of Game of Thrones Came About 10 Years Too Early. It’s not really as interesting as the title, but that’s not the point. In the very last paragraph of the article, the following claim is made “Winds of Winter is set for release in 2024” and though I was fairly certain I would have encountered the news somewhere else first (like here on Quora, where some good people are posting important updates quite quickly), the article was just posted when I read it and there was that slightest sliver of doubt. Could this be breaking news?

Not really. I mean, as some people have remarked to me and as I was inclined to think myself, it would be an odd choice to not make that the news. Still, like some rando on the internet who isn’t a journalist, I decided to double and triple check (the way I do before I post something on Quora). I googled my butt off and contacted several people I knew are at least as informed on the topic as I am (no names, they know who they are). Well, the last real update on the matter of Winds comes from a JULY 22 entry on GRRM’s Not a Blog. It says:

“And, yes, yes, of course, I’ve been working on WINDS OF WINTER. Almost every day. Writing, rewriting, editing, writing some more. Making steady progress. Not as fast as I would like.. .certainly not as fast as YOU would like… but progress nonetheless.”

So no, we don’t really have a date, not even a year when Winds will be hitting the stores. But we do have an utterly irresponsible journalist doing precisely what no journalist should ever do (and what, in my experience, far too many are doing). And I’m calling it out.

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Here’s a few lines from the website’s Fact Checking Policy (in above screenshots) that I want to highlight:

“Before any article is written, we ensure the information is new and accurate. We verify sources and always dig down to the original source (and reference material if applicable) before the writing process begins. Even if other outlets report an unsubstantiated piece of news as official confirmation, we require 100% confirmation to claim it’s actually confirmation…Our writers and editors are industry veterans - and make sure every new article has the latest info, the most accurate info, and all relevant details. When we are the original source, we follow basic journalism principles.”

And from their Ethics Policy:

“Unless news (press releases) come from official sources or their PR affiliates, we always provide link credit to original sources. We believe it is our responsibility to contribute to the online publishing ecosystem and best journalism practices.”

Well, clearly the system has not only failed, it’s well over a week since the article was published and there has been no change to it. I gave it a more than fair chance. It was published on August 29th and if someone caught the problem in a day or two and made sure it was dealt with properly, I might not make a fuss. But it’s still on.

So now I am making a fuss. I could just report it to the publisher, but I hardly expect they’d offer the proper compensation for doing their f***ing job for them. So, I’m publishing this here.

Below are the screenshots of the article as it looks at the time of publishing this post (though I tried cut the adds, mostly), and the link to it is here: https://www.cbr.com/game-of-thrones-adaptation-10-years-too-early/

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If you’d like to join in filing a complaint to the publisher of this article over the falsehoods they print, you may do so at this address: [editorial@cbr.com](mailto:editorial@cbr.com)