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Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers

posted by janrinok on Thursday November 30 2023, @06:09AM   Printer-friendly
from the can-AI-be-used-to-create-a-fake-sport? dept.

fliptop writes:

They were asked about it, and they deleted everything:

There was nothing in Drew Ortiz's author biography at Sports Illustrated to suggest that he was anything other than human.

"Drew has spent much of his life outdoors, and is excited to guide you through his never-ending list of the best products to keep you from falling to the perils of nature," it read. "Nowadays, there is rarely a weekend that goes by where Drew isn't out camping, hiking, or just back on his parents' farm."

The only problem? Outside of Sports Illustrated, Drew Ortiz doesn't seem to exist. He has no social media presence and no publishing history. And even more strangely, his profile photo on Sports Illustrated is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, where he's described as "neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes."

Ortiz isn't the only AI-generated author published by Sports Illustrated, according to a person involved with the creation of the content who asked to be kept anonymous to protect them from professional repercussions.

"There's a lot," they told us of the fake authors. "I was like, what are they? This is ridiculous. This person does not exist."

[...] The AI content marks a staggering fall from grace for Sports Illustrated, which in past decades won numerous National Magazine Awards for its sports journalism and published work by literary giants ranging from William Faulkner to John Updike.

But now that it's under the management of The Arena Group, parts of the magazine seem to have devolved into a Potemkin Village in which phony writers are cooked up out of thin air, outfitted with equally bogus biographies and expertise to win readers' trust, and used to pump out AI-generated buying guides that are monetized by affiliate links to products that provide a financial kickback when readers click them.

What's next? Six-fingered AI-generated models for the swimsuit edition?

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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by Opportunist on Thursday November 30 2023, @10:39AM

    by Opportunist (5545) on Thursday November 30 2023, @10:39AM (#1334715)

    "When I said he's one giant asshole, this is NOT what I meant!"

    Starting Score:    1  point
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