The owner of Sports Illustrated, the Arena Group, has denied the allegations that it used artificial intelligence (AI) and fake writers to produce some of its stories. The accusations were made by a report from the Daily Beast, which claimed that the publisher used an AI tool called Nota to generate content under fabricated bylines.
According to the report, the Arena Group used Nota to create articles for Men’s Journal, a fitness and lifestyle magazine, and planned to expand the use of AI to other brands, including Sports Illustrated. The report also alleged that the AI-generated articles were not properly disclosed or fact-checked, and that some of the fake writers had LinkedIn profiles and email addresses.
The Arena Group, which acquired Sports Illustrated in 2019, issued a statement in response to the report, calling it “inaccurate and misleading”. The publisher said that it used Nota as a “research and recommendation tool” to help its editors and writers find topics and sources, and that it did not use AI to write stories.
The publisher also said that it did not use fake writers, and that the bylines of the articles generated by Nota were “Men’s Journal Editors”. It added that the articles were reviewed and edited by human editors before publication, and that it clearly disclosed the use of AI on its website.
The Arena Group said that it was proud of its journalism and its use of technology to enhance its content. It said that it was committed to transparency and accuracy, and that it welcomed feedback from its readers and partners.
The use of AI in journalism has been a controversial topic, as some publishers have adopted the technology to create content faster and cheaper, while others have raised ethical and quality concerns. Some of the benefits of AI include the ability to analyze large amounts of data, generate headlines and summaries, and personalize content for different audiences. However, some of the challenges include the potential for bias, errors, plagiarism, and manipulation.
Some of the examples of AI in journalism include the Associated Press, which uses an AI tool called Wordsmith to write earnings reports and sports stories, and the Washington Post, which uses an AI tool called Heliograf to cover elections and sports. Both outlets have said that they use AI to augment their human journalists, not to replace them.
