Sports Illustrated is alleged to have published articles created by AI.

 

Following a report claiming that the web articles released by Sports Illustrated were fake author accounts created by artificial intelligence, the publication removed the articles.

Futurism, a tech publication, discovered author headshots on an AI-generated image website and reported the problem.

The Sports Illustrated Union called for "basic journalistic standards" after stating that its employees were "horrified".

Although the owner of the publisher denied that the report was accurate, it did state that an internal investigation had been started.

According to a company spokesperson, Arena Group, the owner of the Sports Illustrated magazine and website, licensed the content from Advon Commerce, a third-party business.

The statement also stated that Sports Illustrated has since taken down the content following the allegations. Arena Group has dissolved its relationship with Advon Commerce and is currently conducting an internal investigation.

An inquiry for comment from Advon Commerce, an online retailer and publisher, was not immediately answered.

"These practices violate everything we believe about journalism," stated the Sports Illustrated Union.

"We demand the company commit to adhering to basic journalistic standards, including not publishing computer-written stories by fake people," the union stated on X.

Advon Commerce allegedly told Arena Group "that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans" and that it utilises "counter-plagiarism and counter-AI software" on a regular basis.

But according to the company, AdVon Commerce had given its writers permission to use pseudonyms "in certain articles" in order to preserve their privacy. For this reason, the author names are unique to this piece of writing on the internet and the AI-generated images were used.

 The media community is becoming increasingly concerned that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could spread false information and inexpensively replace journalists, which is why this incident at Sports Illustrated occurred. Numerous newsrooms have either released guidelines explaining their approach to AI for staff and audiences, or they have conducted experiments with the technology.

On the other hand, some newsrooms have gained notoriety for running AI stories that contained inaccuracies or outright lies. Some attracted notice for failing to label stories as AI-generated.

Many employees of Sports Illustrated expressed their disgust on social media about the conclusions of Futurist's report, especially in light of Arena Group's recent significant staff reductions.

The union's president, Sports Illustrated editor Mitch Goldich, stated that the publication had caused "significant harm to the reputation of the diligent individuals I have had the pleasure of working with over the last nine years."