Dubai, United Arab Emirates – In a move reflective of the growing impact of artificial intelligence on various industries, three months ago, Business Insider magazine unveiled its plan to cut approximately a third of its workforce.
This decision was driven by the growing reliance on artificial intelligence technologies.
However, the magazine, owned by the prominent publishing house Axel Springer, faced challenges. They struggled in deleting articles later revealed to have been written using artificial intelligence.
In response, two other publications faced similar issues. Wired magazine, renowned for its coverage of technology topics, and the website of Index on Sensorship (Censorship Index), which monitors freedom of expression, were compelled to remove articles. These were published under the pseudonym Marago Blanchard.
These articles were deleted due to allegations of blatant fabrications. This included the creation of fictitious town and company names that went unnoticed by the editors before publication.
Wake-up call
The British newspaper “Dispatch” raised concerns about a proposed article by Blanchard about a fake mining town in Colorado. She challenged Blanchard about the article before sending the information to the Press Gazette.
Wired magazine published an article by Blanchard about real couples who “marry” online through platforms like Minecraft and Roblox.
In August, Wired magazine published an apology article. They acknowledged that they had been defrauded by a freelance writer who used artificial intelligence to write the entire topic. Wired magazine, known for its ability to detect AI fraud, was unfortunately deceived.
Last April, Business Insider magazine published two articles by Blanchard.
These articles were published a month before Business Insider announced the layoff of 21% of its employees. This was part of its efforts to fully adopt artificial intelligence.
The title of the first article was “Working remotely was the best thing for me as a parent, but the worst for me as a person.”
The title of the other article was “I gave birth to my first child at the age of forty-five. I am financially stable and have years of life experience to guide me.”
Business Insider then deleted the two articles. They replaced them with a message stating that they had been deleted because they did not meet Business Insider’s criteria.
This news represents a setback to efforts in many newsrooms to reduce costs and increase productivity using artificial intelligence.
Two studies conducted in March and August indicated an important trend. Approximately half of the world’s journalists now rely on artificial intelligence to produce their journalistic materials.
