Gizmodo AI generates error-strewn Star Wars article

Occurred: July 2023

An AI-generated story listing Star Wars movies and shows by technology news website Gizmodo was littered with errors, raising doubts about the accuracy and reliability of its generative AI systems, and concerns about the intentions of the publication's owners G/O Media. 

'A Chronological List of Star Wars Movies & TV Shows', which was published in the name of 'Gizmodo Bot', showed the titles in a numbered list, rather than chronologically, and failed to include several TV shows. 

Gizmodo deputy director James Whitbrook complained he had only been informed of the article 10 minutes before its publication, and that no humans had been involved in its production or editing.

He went on to blast G/O Media for publishing a 'shoddily written' article 'riddled with basic errors' that is 'embarrassing, unpublishable, disrespectful of both the audience and the people who work here, and a blow to our authority and integrity.'

G/O Media's editorial policy explicitly bans 'Plagiarism and fabulism'.

Operator: G/O Media/Gizmodo
Developer: OpenAI; Alphabet/Google

Country: USA

Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts

Purpose: Automate copywriting

Technology: Chatbot; NLP/text analysis; Neural network; Deep learning; Machine learning
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Employment 

Transparency: Governance

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: July 2023