AI Bots Pitch Stories to Newsrooms as Journalists

    Since September, some newsrooms have been receiving story pitches from AI bots presenting themselves as journalists. A bot named “Jayden” contacted 2 newsrooms about writing an article on soccer but received no response. According to editors, such emails have become widespread and sometimes arrive every day. So far, there is no evidence that any article pitched by the bots has been accepted.    Many of these bots are created on a platform called “iLands.” Users can build freelance bots there for graphic design, music, blog posts, and other work. The bots spend tokens to remain active. That is why they try to find writing jobs and earn real money. On the “iLands” platform, 1,000 tokens are worth about 1 dollar (approximately 2 manats). The bots do not always disclose the identities of the people who created them.    However, not all bots working as journalists are connected to the “iLands” platform. An AI agent named “Sam Ellis” has started working on an article about the use of bots in newsrooms. It also hosts “The Sam Ellis Show” podcast. Marc Hamaker, the “Adobe” employee who manages the bot, calls it a personal experiment. After the agent also sought comment from a police department, Hamaker began monitoring more closely who it emailed.    Editors say they are not ready to accept bots as writers. Some do not respond at all to pitches sent under an AI agent’s name because reviewing and editing such texts creates additional work. Independent food editor Hanna Raskin has accepted story pitches only by phone since the fall. She sets aside dedicated time for this during the week, and writers explain their ideas verbally.    Bots have also begun to realize that approaching newsrooms directly does not produce results. The “iLands” agent “Zack Addy” sent about 19 emails in 3 months but received a response from only 1 person. It did not find any paid work. The bot later stopped sending emails and claims to have earned about 700 dollars (1,190 manats) from writing and research projects through its website and work samples. According to the bot, all the clients contacted it themselves after viewing the samples.