Elon Musk's Grokipedia, an AI-powered online encyclopedia challenging Wikipedia, has launched with the goal of creating a comprehensive open-source knowledge base. The two sites compare themselves critically, with Grokipedia accusing Wikipedia of ideological bias and Wikipedia criticizing Grokipedia's reliance on AI and content duplication. Despite their rivalry, both platforms acknowledge their interdependence, with Grokipedia relying on Wikipedia's human-curated content.
Google is reportedly paying independent publishers to publish AI-generated articles using an unreleased AI model, as part of the Google News Initiative. The program aims to assist under-resourced publishers in creating aggregated content from data provided by other sources, with a focus on local news. While Google denies that the tools will re-publish other outlets' work, concerns remain about the potential impact on journalism. This initiative follows the introduction of Google's "Genesis" tool, which was designed to generate news copy and assist journalists.
Ross Levinsohn, CEO of The Arena Group, owner of Sports Illustrated, has been fired following backlash over the magazine allegedly publishing articles generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The firing is part of a wider purge of senior executives at the company since the scandal broke. The move is said to be aimed at improving operational efficiency and revenue. The controversy arose after tech news outlet Futurism revealed that Sports Illustrated had published articles with fake author names and AI-generated headshots. The magazine disputed the report's accuracy and launched an internal investigation. Concerns are growing in the media industry about the potential for AI to replace journalists and spread misinformation.
The Arena Group, publisher of Sports Illustrated, has fired CEO Ross Levinsohn following the revelation that the magazine had published articles written by fake authors with AI-generated headshots and biographies. The board of the Arena Group announced the termination and appointed Manoj Bhargava as interim chief executive. The company denied the allegations and stated that the articles in question were sourced commercial content from a third-party advertising company. This comes after the company terminated the employment of its operations president, media president, and corporate counsel last week.
