Wednesday’s “Mississippi Voices” column (“Another data center means higher rates for consumers”) contains a bit of irony. The article complains about increases in residential electricity rates due to new data centers in the area. Yet in supporting the argument, the article cites data from only the AI engines Perplexity and ChatGPT. By relying on these AI tools, the author increases demand for the data centers that he claims to oppose.
Moreover, citing data only from these error-prone AI tools rather than from original sources is a poor journalism practice. The author should follow the advice in last weekend’s Dispatch (“Does ChatGPT dream of the Bulldogs winning the SEC Championship?”); there, Deborah Lee (MSU Libraries) suggested “following up generative AI searches with more research through authoritative sources.”
Karen Devine
Columbus
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
