“There are a lot of them,” a source told the outlet about the fake perpetrators. “I ask myself: what is this? That’s ridiculous. This user doesn’t exist. “
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Another source alleged that the content itself was, at least partially, generated using AI technology.
“The content is entirely AI-generated,” the source told Futurism, “no matter how much they say it’s not. “
Experts say the difference between AI investments in China and the United States is that the American model is driven by private corporations, while China adopts a government strategy (JOSEP LAGO/AFP Getty Images)
Sports Illustrated Union later published a statement saying it was “horrified” by the report and demanded transparency from The Arena Group, Sports Illustrated’s parent company.
“We, the workers of the SI Union, are horrified by a story on the site Futurism, reporting that Sports Illustrated’s parent company, The Arena Group, has published Al-generated content under SI’s brand with fabricated bylines and writer profiles. If true, these practices violate everything we believe in about journalism. We deplore being associated with something so disrespectful to our readers.”
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“We need to be very clear: what is described in this futurism story does not constitute the tough journalists that make up the SI union,” he continued. “For nearly 70 years, SL staff members have adhered to the highest moral standards imaginable. As members of the SI Union, we are proud to be part of this legacy and work every day to protect it. We hope that the control will do the same. “
But in a response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for The Arena Group told Fox News Digital that the accusation that the outlet published AI-generated content was “not accurate” and that a third party was to blame for the fabricated author pages.
“The articles in question were product reviews and were licensed content from an external, third-party company, AdVon Commerce. A number of AdVon’s e-commerce articles ran on certain Arena websites. We continually monitor our partners and were in the midst of a review when these allegations were raised.”
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The statement continued: “AdVon has assured us that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans. According to AdVon, their writers, editors, and researchers create and curate content and follow a policy that involves using both counter-plagiarism and counter-AI software on all content. However, we have learned that AdVon had writers use a pen or pseudo name in certain articles to protect author privacy – actions we don’t condone – and we are removing the content while our internal investigation continues and have since ended the partnership.”
Shown here is a depiction of hands typing on a computer keyboard on January 26, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Thomas Truutschel/Photo Library Getty Images)
According to a Wall Street Journal report published in February, The Arena Group announced the use of AI in some of its content earlier this year. The generation has enabled the creation of new content based on accumulated data from stories archived in the past and, according to a disclosure, has been reviewed through an editorial team.
“It’s not going to replace the art of creating content,” Ross Levinsohn, Arena Group’s chairman and chief executive, reportedly said at the time. “It’s giving the content creators, whether they’re writers or social creators, real efficiency and real access to the archives we have.”
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Paulina Dedaj is a reporter for Fox News Digital.