Microsoft-owned MSN.com was criticized for publishing an obituary of former NBA player Brandon Hunter that was clearly — and badly — created by AI and not a person, as it was incomprehensibly filled with miscues, improper word use, and even insults.
The post was meant to detail the life and passing of the one-time Orlando Magic player who collapsed suddenly and died at only 42 during a hot yoga workout in Orlando. However, all good intentions aside, the article quickly went off the AI rails when it exclaimed, “Brandon Hunter useless at 42.”
Calling the dead player “useless” was not the only blunder in this obit, clearly written by a misfiring artificial intelligence bot.
Brandon Hunter #34 of the Orlando Magic shoots a free throw during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gund Arena on March 8, 2005, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
The now-deleted story also noted that Hunter “handed away” after his successful college career, which saw him earning “vital success as a ahead for the Bobcats.” The obit also helpfully informed readers that Hunter “performed in 67 video games.”
Then there was this garbled sentence telling readers that Hunter “achieved a career-high of 17 factors in a recreation in opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004,” according to the website Futurism.
The website reached out to MSN and asked just what was going on over there and was told that “the accuracy of the content we publish from our partners is important to us” and promised to keep working to “enhance our systems to identify and prevent inaccurate information from appearing on our channels.”
MSN also noted that the faulty — not to mention offensive — AI product was removed from its site.
As Futurism noted, this is not the first time that MSN has had to memory-hole a poorly written AI article. And it will happen more often since MSN fired most of its human news writers.
Brandon Hunter #56 of the Boston Celtics in action against the Detroit Pistons during a preseason NBA game on October 8, 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Ray Amati/NBAE via Getty Images)
“The full story is that back in 2020, MSN fired the team of human journalists responsible for vetting content published on its platform,” Futurism reported. “As a result, as we reported last year, the platform ended up syndicating large numbers of sloppy articles about topics as dubious Bigfoot and mermaids, which it deleted after we pointed them out.”
But this Hunter obituary was a pip, indeed. The first paragraph of the MSN story was misfiring right away:
Former NBA participant Brandon Hunter, who beforehand performed for the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, has handed away on the age of 42, as introduced by Ohio males’s basketball coach Jeff Boals on Tuesday.
It went on with this gem:
Hunter, initially a extremely regarded highschool basketball participant in Cincinnati, achieved vital success as a ahead for the Bobcats.
He earned three first-team All-MAC convention alternatives and led the NCAA in rebounding throughout his senior season. Hunter’s expertise led to his choice because the 56th general decide within the 2003 NBA Draft.
Nicely done, AI author, nicely done.
Breitbart Sports congratulates MSN for its furtively verbiaged passing game story on rebounding success for collegiate magic Brandon Hunter. Who was handed away on the age of 42.
Not everyone, though, was as awed by MSN’s work:
AI should not be writing obituaries. Pay your damn writers @MSN https://t.co/ve3uJQlvZh
— Ed 🏴 (@EdLockwood87) September 13, 2023
This is absolutely DISGUSTING!!!! Terrible enough that B Hunt’s family is dealing with his unexpected passing but to throw this on top of that is UNACCEPTABLE. When/should the time come, they should sue @Microsoft for slander. https://t.co/gi2AUw6crp
— Emory Ogletree II (@THEMcGodiva) September 18, 2023
Brandon Hunter deserved better—but MSN replaced reporters with robot writers in 2020. https://t.co/7aKSW2MEhw
— LEVEL (@levelmag) September 14, 2023
Where’s the apology for the article headline on Brandon Hunter?
— Bjorn Braaten (@bbraaten1) September 14, 2023
The words “Artificial Intelligence” seems to be quite a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it?
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