The Chicago Sun-Times apologized on Tuesday publishing an artificial intelligence-generated summer reading recommendation list that included books that do not exist.
The AI list was published online and in print over the weekend, with readers quickly pointing out the fake books and mocking the outlet on social media.
The list, published as part of a special section, was created by the newspaper’s circulation department, it said, and “licensed from a national content partner.”
“The special section was syndicated to the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers,” the company said. “To our great disappointment, that list recommended books that do not exist. We are committed to making sure this never happens again.”
The section was inserted into the paper without review from its editorial team, the Sun-Times said, apologizing that it presented the section without any acknowledgement that it was from a third-party organization.
“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 in its statement. “This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued — and valuable — because of the humanity behind it.”
The mistake comes as a growing number of major news organizations are partnering with with AI providers and other tech companies on content creation, digital strategy and content management systems.
