The chief executive officer of Sports Illustrated has been ousted after the site was caught publishing AI-generated stories.
On Monday, Dec. 11 The Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated and The Street, fired its chief executive Ross Levinsohn after Sports Illustrated was caught publishing stories with fake author names and profile photos generated by artificial intelligence, CNN reports.
Levinsohn, who served as CEO for three years, was replaced by interim chief executive Manoj Bhargava, the founder of the energy drink brand 5-Hour Energy and majority investor of The Arena Group.
His removal comes less than a week after The Arena Group fired three major executives: operations president and chief operating officer Andrew Kraft, media president Rob Barrett, and corporate counsel Julie Fenster.
“All of the media brands, including Sports Illustrated, will continue to operate with the management of those verticals, while the company just takes a broad view of operations and how to improve the business overall,” Vince Bodiford, a spokesperson for Bhargava said
When asked if the AI-generated articles had anything to do with the swift terminations, Bodiford said, “We have nothing further to add to the company’s prior statements regarding A.I.”
Futurism first revealed the AI purported author “Sora Tanaka,” which/who claimed to be a product reviewer on the site.
“Sora has always been a fitness guru, and loves to try different foods and drinks,” the profile stated. “Ms. Tanaka is thrilled to bring her fitness and nutritional expertise to the Product Reviews Team, and promises to bring you nothing but the best of the best.”
When called out, The Arena Group issued a statement claiming the articles with the AI-generated headshots had been provided by a contractor called AdVon Commerce.
“We understand that change can be challenging, but it is also a necessary catalyst for progress,” Grady Tripp, the company’s senior vice president of people wrote. “Our commitment to making Arena a successful and profitable company remains steadfast. We believe that these and other changes will contribute to the growth and success of Arena for the benefit of all stakeholders, including our valued customers, shareholders, and employees.”