AI-Generated Summer Reading List Causes Uproar in Journalism Community
King Features, a prominent content distributor known for comics like “Blondie” and “Beetle Bailey,” has fired a freelance writer who used artificial intelligence to generate a summer reading list that included fictional book titles and authors. The controversial supplement, titled “Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer,” was published in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer last week.
More than Half of Recommended Books Were Fabricated
The list contained several nonexistent books attributed to real authors. For instance, “The Last Algorithm” by Andy Weir was described as “a science-driven thriller following a programmer who discovers an AI system has developed consciousness” and secretly influences world events. Another example was “Nightshade Market” by Min Jin Lee, purportedly a “riveting tale set in Seoul’s underground economy.” Both authors are real, but the books themselves are not.
Marco Buscaglia, the writer responsible for the piece, admitted to using AI as a research tool but acknowledged that he failed to verify the accuracy of the information generated. “A really stupid error on my part,” Buscaglia wrote on his Facebook page, taking full responsibility for the mistake. “I am completely at fault here — just an awful oversight and a horrible mistake.”
Industry-Wide Implications
This incident is the latest in a series of AI-related mishaps in the journalism world. In 2023, Sports Illustrated faced criticism for listing nonexistent authors for product reviews on its website. Gannett news service also had to pause an AI experiment for sports stories after discovering errors.
King Features emphasized its strict policy against using AI to create material, stating that the use of AI was not disclosed by the freelance contractor. Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer have since removed the supplement from their digital editions.
Response from Involved Parties
The Chicago Sun-Times is currently investigating whether other inaccurate information was included in the supplement and reviewing its relationships with content partners. “We are in a moment of great transformation in journalism and technology, and at the same time our industry continues to be besieged by business challenges,” the newspaper said. “This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued — and valuable — because of the humanity behind it.”
Lisa Hughes, publisher and CEO of The Inquirer, clarified that their newsroom was not involved in producing the syndicated features. “The Inquirer newsroom is not involved in the production of these syndicated features, nor was it involved in creating Heat Index,” she said.
The incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by news organizations in navigating the integration of AI tools while maintaining journalistic integrity.
