An automated article published on Microsoft's Start website recommended a food bank in Ottawa, Canada, as a top place for tourists to visit.

Microsoft published an article titled "Headed to Ottawa? Here’s what you shouldn’t miss!" which listed the Ottawa Food Bank as the third must-see attraction in the city. 

The article controversially suggested that visitors consider going to the food bank on an "empty stomach," which many found insensitive given the food bank's purpose of providing assistance to those in need. 

The tourism article was also riddled with errors, such as including a photo of the Rideau River in a section about the Rideau Canal, and using a photo of the Rideau Canal for information about a Quebec park, according to Canada's CBC.

'People who come to us have jobs and families to support, as well as expenses to pay. Life is already difficult enough. Consider going into it on an empty stomach,' the article said.

Microsoft deleted the offending item after a swift backlash that accused the technology company of poorly managing its AI system, and putting technology above humans.

The company said the article 'was generated through a combination of algorithmic techniques with human review, not a large language model or AI system' and that the problem 'was due to human error', a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge.

Microsoft's AI-aggregated Start news service replaced Microsoft News in 2021.