Crescent Staff to be Replaced by A.I.

Illustration by Noelle Mitcham

Article by Madeline Teeter

NEWBERG, Ore. – This semester marks the end of an era for The Crescent. Beginning in Fall of 2026, the majority of the staff will be let go in favor of using Grok A.I.

This change was proposed by Joshua Bost, who will be stepping up as the editor-in-chief next semester. Bost explained what led to this idea: “I saw this Instagram reel about A.I.s responding to prompts and saw that Grok was the best. I thought: ‘you know what, this could cater to human readers. It fits our style.’”

Despite the feeble reasoning behind the change, Bost is committed to the plan and sees no drawbacks. “Why pay human writers when I can submit prompts for free?” Bost said. He reasoned that A.I. would reduce time and effort as well as costs.

Grok will handle all reporting, illustrating and graphic design. Bost said that he would take photos from his phone for any needed photography and would continue his job as editor, although Grok requires few edits.

It is worth mentioning that since the whole staff–besides Bost–will be let go, he will be receiving the salaries of the entire team. “It will all go straight to me,” Bost said.

Grok still has limits, such as the fact that it is incapable of interviewing others and may create fake interviews. However, Bost seemed unconcerned. He said that all an article requires now is for him to come up with an idea and give it to Grok.

With this change, The Crescent will begin publishing two issues per week, given Grok’s abilities to create articles and images at the push of a button. While Bost seems to think that the quality of the work will not be reduced, that fact remains to be seen.

“I have a feeling readers won’t be able to tell the difference,” Bost said. “If they don’t respond well, they can go start their own newspaper. Let’s see if they can outcompete Grok.”

Pushback is guaranteed against this change, as the rest of the staff is angered and in shock. The current Editor-In-Chief, Lucille Lettau, expressed her disappointment with Bost’s changes, as she will be abroad next semester and unable to prevent them.

I am hoping that this article has been eye-opening to readers, as this is one of my last chances to use this outlet to speak out. We on The Crescent staff did not agree with giving our jobs to A.I. All we can do is hope that Bost will realize that A.I. is not the answer, or else The Crescent may be coming to an end.