MSN Publishes Absurd AI-Generated Obituary for NBA Player, Highlights Dangers of Replacing Human Journalists with Algorithms

MSN published an insane AI-generated obituary calling dead NBA player Brandon Hunter "useless" at age 42.
The obituary was filled with nonsensical AI-generated text about Hunter's career.
MSN retracted the obituary after initially hosting it on their news aggregation site.
In 2020, MSN fired all 27 of its human journalists and replaced them with AI software.
The AI-generated obituary was an example of the disastrous results from MSN's increased reliance on AI for news generation.

thedailybeast.com

Relevant topic timeline:

8/18/2023

Microsoft retracts AI-written article advising tourists to visit a food bank on an empty stomach

Main topic: Microsoft published and retracted an AI-generated article that recommended visiting a Canadian food bank as a tourist attraction. Key points: 1. The article included inappropriate recommendations, such as visiting the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist attraction. 2. The article appeared on Microsoft Start, the company's AI-aggregated news service. 3. Microsoft senior director Jeff Jones stated that the article has been removed and they are investigating how it bypassed their review process.

8/21/2023

Microsoft took down a string of embarrassing travel articles created with 'algorithmic techniques.' But it says AI isn't the problem.

Microsoft took down a series of travel articles due to offensive and nonsensical content, claiming the mistake was due to human error rather than unsupervised AI, raising concerns about AI's impact on news.

9/14/2023

MSN Fires Editors, Publishes Cruel, AI-Generated Obituary for Former NBA Player

Former NBA player Brandon Hunter, who tragically died after hot yoga, was the subject of a heartless article published by MSN, seemingly written by artificial intelligence, highlighting the limitations and ethical concerns of AI-generated content.

9/14/2023

AI-Generated Obituary Filled with Errors Prompts Backlash Against Microsoft

The basketball community is grieving the loss of Brandon Hunter, a former player for the Ohio Bobcats and NBA teams, whose obituary was allegedly written by Microsoft's artificial intelligence and contained numerous errors, prompting criticism and accusations against the company.

9/18/2023

MSN Under Fire for Publishing AI-Generated Obituary With Offensive Headline About Former NBA Player

Former NBA player Brandon Hunter, who passed away after a hot yoga class, was referred to as "useless" in an AI-powered obituary published by MSN, Microsoft's news aggregation site, sparking outrage and criticism.

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Posted 9/14/2023, 4:46:16 PM

MSN Publishes Absurd AI-Generated Obituary for NBA Player, Highlights Dangers of Replacing Human Journalists with Algorithms

MSN published an insane AI-generated obituary calling dead NBA player Brandon Hunter "useless" at age 42.
The obituary was filled with nonsensical AI-generated text about Hunter's career.
MSN retracted the obituary after initially hosting it on their news aggregation site.
In 2020, MSN fired all 27 of its human journalists and replaced them with AI software.
The AI-generated obituary was an example of the disastrous results from MSN's increased reliance on AI for news generation.

thedailybeast.com

Relevant topic timeline:

8/18/2023

Microsoft retracts AI-written article advising tourists to visit a food bank on an empty stomach

8/21/2023

Microsoft took down a string of embarrassing travel articles created with 'algorithmic techniques.' But it says AI isn't the problem.

9/14/2023

MSN Fires Editors, Publishes Cruel, AI-Generated Obituary for Former NBA Player

9/14/2023

AI-Generated Obituary Filled with Errors Prompts Backlash Against Microsoft

9/18/2023

MSN Under Fire for Publishing AI-Generated Obituary With Offensive Headline About Former NBA Player