The Guardian blames Microsoft: artificial intelligence created a poll on MSN about a woman’s death alongside an article about her
The Guardian has accused Microsoft of causing reputational damage. It is because of the publication of an unacceptable survey created by artificial intelligence, writes The Verge.
The situation arose after the publication of a newspaper article about the death of a woman. An AI-generated poll appeared next to the text, asking readers to vote on how the woman died. The poll contained three options: suicide, murder, or accident.
Users reacted strongly to the poll, which was eventually removed. Some of them were upset by this situation, and some believed that the authors of the text were responsible for it.
Microsoft said it was investigating the incident.
“We have deactivated Microsoft-generated polls for all news articles and we are investigating the cause of the inappropriate content. A poll should not have appeared alongside an article of this nature, and we are taking steps to help prevent this kind of error from reoccurring in the future,” the company noted.
The Guardian Media Group CEO Anna Bateson wrote in a letter to Microsoft President Brad Smith that the “clearly inappropriate” AI survey caused significant reputational damage to the publication and its journalists.
She also asked Microsoft to assure her that before using experimental technology in or alongside journalistic materials, the company would obtain the publication’s approval.