Associated Incidents
As AI begins to eat its way into our lives more each day, its limitations become more obvious as it encounters situations its creators might not have envisioned. The latest example comes from Microsoft, which used AI to insert polls next to news stories for its readers to take, theoretically increasing engagement. Recently, it inserted a poll about a woman in Sydney who was found dead, with the poll asking readers what they thought was the cause of death.
The news article was concerning a water polo coach in Sydney whose body was found in the school's gymnasium. The resulting poll asked readers what they thought the cause was, with the options including murder, an accident, or suicide. The article originated with The Guardian, which took Microsoft to task for including such a callous poll alongside its article in the company's news aggregator, Microsoft Start (MSN.com on the web). According to Axios, the errant poll has caused Microsoft to suspend its AI-powered poll generator until it can investigate the matter.
The poll was saved by Axios before Microsoft removed it from the story following reader outcry. Credit: Axios
The move by Microsoft was too little, too late, according to The Guardian, which received heavy flak from readers thinking it was responsible for the poll. Guardian CEO Anna Bateson wrote a fiery letter to Microsoft president Brad Smith about the situation, reiterating the paper's desire that it never wanted polls appearing alongside any syndicated content. "This application of genAI by Microsoft is exactly the sort of instance that we have warned about in relation to news," wrote Bateson. The CEO urged Microsoft to clarify to readers that AI, not The Guardian, had made the poll.
Microsoft has taken responsibility for the insensitive poll. In a statement to Axios, it wrote, "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," Microsoft stated.
The whoopsie from Microsoft highlights the difficulty of using AI and algorithms to replace human judgment. According to CNN, Microsoft's news aggregator service has republished numerous false stories recently. It had previously employed over 800 editors globally to curate content but had reduced that number recently due to "automation," which many editors took to mean AI was now doing their jobs.
If anything, the incident only highlights the need for media companies to clarify when using AI-generated content. Whether Microsoft will take that route when its polls return online remains to be seen.