Sports Illustrated Fires CEO Over Publishing A-I Stories, Fake Writers
According to multiple sources, including The New York Post, legendary sports publication Sports Illustrated got caught using AI to create 'fake' content that it posted online. Now their CEO has been fired.
The company claims the change was not because of an AI flap
November 27th. The Post reported SI scrubbed its online website of all AI (artificial intelligence) content after being 'caught.' The magazine was accused of using AI to produce poorly written product reviews on its site, which were authored by imaginary or fake writers who were also AI-created.
Sports Illustrated is part of what is called the Arena Group, which also owns Men's Health and other popular publications.
The writers of these AI-generated reviews were also made up, with their publicity headshots having been purchased from a company that offers AI-generated headshots.
Ross Levensohn was let go, and the creator and founder of the product Five Hour Energy, Manoj Bhargava, was named to take over the CEO job. Bhargava is also a major investor in Arena.
The press release about the firing did not say it was due to the AI scandal, but many in the tech and business world believe otherwise.
When confronted about the deceptive practices, SI officials said all AI content had been scrubbed from their page, however, The Post and Futurism reported there was still one SI Product Review found on their page, the article and its author, Drew Ortiz, were both artificially generated.
Aside from the damage to the magazine's reputation, The Post reports SI workers and other staffers on publications owned by Arena are "horrified" about the practice of producing fake content. Many are also leery about the idea of using AI for any such reporting, journalism, or similar communications.
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