Time Cover on AI Declaring ‘End of Humanity’ Slammed as Fake News: ‘Not Only Widely Inaccurate but Dangerous’

thewrap.com:

https://t.co/U868E2lOwQ pic.twitter.com/OHObkQ3lFt“Tech doomers at it again,” one user replied. The term “doomer” is modern internet slang used to describe people perpetuating overwhelmingly apathetic or pessimistic attitudes, with the word’s precise meaning shifting on a contextual basis.“It’s certainly going to be hard to claim to ‘fight against fake news’ after a cover like this… This is not only widely inaccurate but dangerous,” another user wrote.

It's certainly going to be hard to claim to "fight against fake news" after a cover like this… This is not only widely inaccurate but dangerous.Another user referenced Time’s old Y2K cover, highlighting that attention-grabbing imagery capitalizing on contemporary fears has been a staple of the publication’s cover stylings for a long time.As can be expected on Twitter, some people just had a fun time meme-ing on Time, chalking up the ominous cover to unwarranted hysteria worthy of farcical derision by way of Elmo.

pic.twitter.com/nZaQ11byjsThe Time cover does have the subtitle “How Real is the Risk?” to highlight that the magazine recognizes many do not see the current AI boom as some Earth-shattering event on par with nuclear war or the recent pandemic.Still, it’s clear that, qualified or otherwise, the cover is chiefly concerned with grabbing attention in a way that could be perceived as fearmongering.According to the Alliance for Audited Media, Time’s 2022 circulation number totaled approximately 1.35 million.

This illustrates a further reduction in the magazine’s presence since Time’s plan to reduce circulation to 2 million starting in 2018 (as reported by Wall Street Journal).