Gizmodo deputy editor James Whitbrook this week blasted parent company G/O Media for publishing artificial intelligence-generated articles that were “shoddily written” and “riddled with basic errors,” The Blaze reported.
Last week, it was revealed that G/O Media would be introducing AI-generated articles in its online publications that include Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Takeout, A.V. Club, and The Onion.
In a leaked internal Slack message sent by G/O Media editorial director Merrill Brown to staff, the company said it had launched “limited testing” of AI-generated articles on Gizmodo, Deadspin, A.V. Club, and Takeout.
One AI-generated article for Gizmodo, “A Chronological List of Star Wars Movies and TV Shows,” placed the films in the wrong order and had to be updated.
In a Twitter thread on Wednesday, Gizmodo and io9 deputy editor James Whitbrook said he only received a 10-minute heads-up that the AI-generated article would be appearing on io9. He insisted that nobody at the site had any role in editing or publishing the article.
With the disclaimer out of the way, Whitbrook offered his personal opinion of the article, describing it as “f*cking dogsh*t.”
Whitbrook added that the article was not published by anyone employed at Gizmodo or io9, nor had anyone “looked at or interacted with” the article “at any point” during its creation either before or after publication.
Whitbrook also posted a copy of the statement he sent to G/O Media arguing that the “shoddily written” article “riddled with basic errors” undermines “the very standards this team holds itself to” daily.
The GMG Union, which represents the employees at G/O Media, issued a statement accusing the company of eroding the trust built over decades by “our newsrooms” by publishing “computer-generated garbage.”
The statement blasted G/O Media for introducing AI-generated articles just days after laying off over a dozen staffers and said the company was trying to “spend less and extract more,” with no thought for “how it affects quality.”
