Benzinga publishes fake AI-generated rapper interview

An interview with rapper and cannabis entrepreneur Gilbert Anthony 'Berner' Milam, Jr. published by business publication Benzinga turned out to be fake and likely to have been generated using artificial intelligence.

In the 'interview', Benzinga contributor David Daxsen appeared to press Milam Jr. over concerns about lawsuits filed against his cannabis company Cookies, and ethics in the cannabis industry. However, the rapper quickly took public issue with the article, saying he had not uttered a word to the author.

Journalist Grant Smith Ellis later ran the interview through an AI content detector, which indicated it was largely, if not entirely, 'written by AI.' Benzinga said the 'information included was fabricated by external sources', retracted the article and 'revoked access' for the contributor.