Sports Illustrated, one of the most iconic sports publications in the US, is facing a major crisis after allegations of using artificial intelligence (AI) to produce fake content and authors. The Arena Group, the holding company that acquired Sports Illustrated in 2019, has denied the accusations, but has also fired two of its top executives in the wake of the scandal.
How the AI Scandal Unfolded
The AI scandal was first exposed by Futurism, a science and technology news publication, on Monday. Futurism reported that Sports Illustrated had published articles written by AI under fake author bylines, along with headshots and biographies generated by AI. Futurism also claimed that the information about the fake authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated’s website after they contacted The Arena Group.
Futurism cited several examples of AI-generated articles and authors, such as an article about volleyball by “Drew Ortiz” and a product review by “Sora Tanaka”. Both of these names and profiles were apparently fabricated by AI, as Futurism found no evidence of their existence online.
Futurism also alleged that some of the AI-generated articles contained factual errors, such as misstating the name of a volleyball player or the price of a product. Futurism suggested that Sports Illustrated was using AI to create cheap and low-quality content, without disclosing it to its readers or advertisers.
The Arena Group’s Response and Actions
The Arena Group, which also owns other media brands such as Men’s Journal, Parade, and TheStreet.com, issued a statement on Tuesday, denying the allegations of using AI to produce content for Sports Illustrated. The Arena Group said that the articles highlighted by Futurism were commercial content sourced from AdVon Commerce, a third-party advertising company that had a licensing deal with Sports Illustrated.
The Arena Group claimed that AdVon Commerce had assured them that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans, not by AI. However, The Arena Group also admitted that AdVon Commerce had used pen names or pseudonyms in some of the articles to protect author privacy, which they strongly condemned.
The Arena Group said that they had removed the articles produced by AdVon Commerce from their websites, and had terminated their partnership with the company. The Arena Group also said that they were conducting an internal investigation to ensure that no other AI-generated content was published on their platforms.
On Wednesday, The Arena Group announced that it had fired two of its senior executives, Rob Barrett, president of media, and Andrew Kraft, COO. The Arena Group said that the firings were part of a reorganization plan by its owner, Manoj Bhargava, and were not related to the AI scandal. However, some sources told Front Office Sports that the AI scandal was a factor in the decision to fire Barrett and Kraft.
The Implications and Challenges of AI in Journalism
The AI scandal involving Sports Illustrated and The Arena Group has raised serious questions and concerns about the use and ethics of AI in journalism. AI is a powerful tool that can help journalists with tasks such as data analysis, fact-checking, summarization, and translation. However, AI can also be used to create fake or misleading content, such as deepfakes, bots, and spam.
Journalists and media organizations have a responsibility to adhere to basic principles of honesty, trust, accuracy, and objectivity, as well as to disclose the use of AI to their audiences and stakeholders. AI can also pose challenges to the quality, diversity, and credibility of journalism, as well as to the rights and interests of journalists, sources, and readers.
Several publishers and other content producers have faced criticism and backlash this year for using AI to generate content without proper disclosure or quality control. For instance, CNET had to publish corrections for a number of AI-generated stories that contained errors, and Microsoft had to pull a computer-generated travel guide that recommended tourists to visit a food bank.
The AI scandal involving Sports Illustrated and The Arena Group is a wake-up call for the media industry and the public to be more aware and vigilant of the potential risks and benefits of AI in journalism, and to establish robust ethical and professional standards and guidelines for its use.
