(NewsNation) — Sports Illustrated has allegedly used artificial intelligence to generate content, raising concerns over AI-generated articles.
Futurism reports the publication allegedly created fake authors, “Drew Ortiz” and “Sora Tanaka,” whose biographies included AI-generated photos. In some cases, these bios included details about the writers’ personal lives or specific areas of expertise.
Futurism claims Sports Illustrated never responded to their questions regarding fake profiles. Instead, the alleged AI-generated writers and the articles under their bylines were removed from the site.
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The Sports Illustrated Union (SI Union) said it was “horrified” that the magazine’s website and parent company The Arena Group published their articles.
In a statement, the SI Union claimed they had no knowledge of AI-generated content being published on the site. Now, they’re demanding “answers and transparency” from The Arena Group. The union also stated that based on the report, the company, “does not represent the hardworking journalists who make up the SI Union.”
In a statement to NewsNation, The Arena Group pushed back on Futurism’s allegations, asserting the claims are “inaccurate.” Instead, the group stated a third-party company partnering with the site allowed writers to pen articles using fake names and profiles, but, “All of the articles in question were written and edited by humans, but “all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans.”
The publisher told NewsNation that they’ve ended their partnership with that third-party company.
All related content has been scrubbed from Sports Illustrated’s site pending an internal investigation.
This was the second time alleged AI-generated content was flagged from The Arena Group. Earlier this year, the publisher’s first foray into AI-generated articles flopped after publishing a piece in Men’s Journal riddled with factual errors.