Taylor Lorenz

Sports Illustrated has been making up fake AI authors, claiming they are real, then deleting them when asked and offering no formal comment, editorial note, or other response.

They’ve also been publishing AI generated content by people who don’t exist with zero disclosure https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers

Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers

Sports Illustrated was publishing articles under seemingly fake bylines. We asked their owner about it — and they deleted everything.

Futurism
Nov 27, 2023 at 7:47pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadThomasNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz Why would anyone want to subscribe to such an outlet?
Show threadAdlangxNov 27, 2023
@trz @taylorlorenz They have been dead for years.
Show threadPablo RrrrrrrNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz There won’t be many complaints until they publish AI generated pics of bikini models. Unless they’re really hot, of course.
Show threadRay HayesNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz The future of sports is all make-believe.
Show threadJeremiahNov 27, 2023
@rayhayes @taylorlorenz With the broad legalization of gambling on sports and thus the profit motivation to manipulate outcomes, I agree 100%.
Show threadStefanNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz reminds me of a story I read about magazine editors in the 80s/90s where when an angry reader would write in they would "fire" the writer and just have them pick a new name to write under.
Show threadNegative12DollarBillNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz
Maybe AI could work for game reports, in which you're really just regurgitating numbers: "at [17] minutes, [Smith] hit a goal making the score [1] to [zero] for the [visiting team]". But not for actual writing.
Show threadPhil WolffNov 27, 2023
@negative12dollarbill @taylorlorenz I think Reuters or AP tried that on routine high school, college, and farm team stories, putting score sheets into text. Not sure if it worked or lasted.
Show threadPeter ButlerNov 27, 2023

@evanwolf @negative12dollarbill @taylorlorenz Not sure about Reuters, but I know AP has been using AI for a while for corporate earnings and sports game previews (i.e. when is the game, which TV channels are showing it, etc.)

https://www.ap.org/discover/artificial-intelligence

Artificial Intelligence | AP

Associated Press
Show threadFirefly's GhostNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz
And people were upset by Charissa Thompson.🤣‼️
Show threadFirefly's GhostNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz
Rule of thumb: If it’s about sports it’s bullshit!
Show threadLuis VillaNov 27, 2023

@taylorlorenz Me: AI regulation is complicated, needs to be done thoughtfully and carefully, and will mostly fail because the future is unknowable

Also me: lying that your content was created by a human being should be punished with massive, business-crippling fines, if not outright jail, and we should pass laws to that effect tomorrow, kthxbye

Show threadRodneyPetersonTalentAgencyNov 27, 2023

@taylorlorenz

Here we go. Shithole country finding even more ways to be a shithole country.

Show threadSnailNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz And of course, intentional or otherwise, stuff like this continues to erode the public trust in professional journalism.😞
Show threadColopenNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz lol that's awful
Show threadbkNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz #enshittification : magazine edition
Show threadcalvin 🛋️ Nov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz It’s pretty spooky that they feel the need to keep it quiet. You’d think if a publication tries something new, they’d let people know.
Show threadJA WestenbergNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz in every single one of these instances, they could have avoided the controversy by disclosing AI, and employing human editors. That they did neither speaks to a troublingly high regard for AI that absolutely fails to recognise reality…
Show threadPappyNov 28, 2023

@Daojoan @taylorlorenz

Oh, man, this! Just say it's generated by AI. Let people decide if that's what they want to read. Most of this sports stuff is just drivel anyway.

Show threadRoadskater, Ph.D.Nov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz Oh, jeebus. Read further down and I see The Street mentioned. That explains so much about the absolute crap I've seen from there that's been showing up in Yahoo Finance lately.
Show threadDeborahNov 27, 2023
@taylorlorenz This type of thing is also becoming an issue in the #Science #Medicine arenas
Show threadGabriele PollaraNov 27, 2023
@VerranDeborah @taylorlorenz not surprised, but can you share some examples on science side?
Show threadDeborahNov 28, 2023
@gpollara @taylorlorenz AI is increasingly being used by paper mills. Have also seen an example of AI used to generate fake bios of speakers for an online meeting https://www.science.org/content/article/fake-scientific-papers-are-alarmingly-common
Fake scientific papers are alarmingly common

But new tools show promise in tackling growing symptom of academia’s “publish or perish” culture

Show threadRuami GreyNov 27, 2023

@taylorlorenz

Wondering when they'll just have AI make up and write detailed articles about sports that don't even exist.

Show threadAdlangxNov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz They also mention in the article that they have found CNet, Bankrate, Gizmodo, AV Club and USA today doing the same thing in the past.
Show threadRichard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️📷 🗺️Nov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz
" AI generated content " sounds like "cleverly plagiarized content" to me
Show threadKyle Memoir 🍉🐧Nov 28, 2023

@taylorlorenz

Another manifestation of enshitification. It’s like gravity now, relentlessly sucking everywhere at everything.

Show threadmem_somervilleNov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz @futurism Now do Discover.
Show threadsleepy cactusNov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz Be right back, just gotta check if Bryan Colangelo is on SI’s executive team.
Show threadlainNov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz wow, i'll never believe any of the hard-hitting journalism that sports illustrated does ever again
Show threadWolfgang BremerNov 28, 2023
@taylorlorenz wow!
Show threaddebsNov 28, 2023

@taylorlorenz

Yeah replacing writers with third party content “creators” from an e-commerce platform was never gone be a problem 🤦🏻‍♀️

Advon website