Gizmodo en Español Shuts Down, Switches to AI Translation

Gizmodo en Español, the Spanish-language version of the technology news website Gizmodo, has shut down and is now using AI to translate articles. The site had a small staff of writers who wrote original stories and created Spanish-language adaptations of pieces from the English-language Gizmodo.

The decision to shut down Gizmodo en Español was announced by Matías S. Zavia, a writer for the site. Zavia said that the site was closed on August 29th and that it would now publish automatically translated articles.

"Hola, amigos. El martes cerraron @GizmodoES para convertirlo en una autopublicación de traducciones (una IA me quitó el trabajo, literalmente).", Zavia wrote on Twitter.

"Pronto empezaré a buscar un nuevo trabajo. Si conocéis una oferta acorde con mi experiencia de 13 años, agradeceré mucho la ayuda ?"

The transition to AI translation has not been smooth. Readers have reported that some articles start in Spanish and then suddenly change to English.

Spanish website AZ Adslzone reported that Gizmodo en Español's team was told of the decision to switch to AI translation via video call. G/O Media, the parent company of Gizmodo, did not return a request for comment.

The use of AI to translate articles is not new. News organizations have been experimenting with this technology for several years. However, the use of AI to translate articles has been met with some criticism. Some journalists have argued that AI-translated articles are often inaccurate and can lead to misinformation.

In the case of Gizmodo en Español, the decision to switch to AI translation has been met with dismay by many of the site's former employees. They argue that the use of AI will lead to the loss of jobs and a decline in the quality of the site's content.

It remains to be seen how the use of AI translation will affect Gizmodo en Español in the long term. However, the decision to switch to AI translation is a sign of the changing landscape of the news industry. As technology advances, news organizations are increasingly turning to AI to automate tasks and produce content.