During my leisure time, I enjoy unwinding by engaging in a baseball simulation game known as Out of the Park Baseball, or OOTP. This game involves assembling a roster of Major League Baseball players and pitting them against other teams in simulated matches. Following each game, OOTP generates a box score and statistical data, accompanied by a delightful feature that never fails to amuse me: the creation of a game narrative.
The narratives produced by OOTP are technically accurate in their details. However, it’s essential to note that these stories are entirely fabricated, depicting events that never transpired, with no actual baseball games taking place and no human writer tasked with crafting the story. Surprisingly, the AI-generated “game story” manages to adhere to the established conventions of sports writing—covering the who, what, when, where, and how—in a manner that rivals my own capabilities as a seasoned sports writer of nearly two decades, albeit with room for improvement in the realm of compelling quotes.
The recent revelation by Futurism shed light on Sports Illustrated’s publication of fake, AI-generated articles attributed to non-existent authors with AI-generated profiles and images. This discovery sparked a significant backlash, ranging from a notable staff rebellion to a widespread industry outcry over the transformation of a once-revered institution—known for featuring literary giants like William Faulkner, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck—into a purveyor of fabricated content.
Following Futurism’s exposé, a spokesperson for The Arena Group, the current owner of Sports Illustrated, informed CNN that the now-removed articles were crafted by a third-party entity. The spokesperson clarified that the use of pen names or pseudonyms in the articles to safeguard author anonymity was not endorsed, leading to the termination of the partnership with the involved company, AdVon, which remained unresponsive to CNN’s inquiries.
The challenges faced by Sports Illustrated under The Arena Group’s ownership have been extensively documented, showcasing a decline in journalistic quality evident on platforms like SI.com, now inundated with fan-generated content, branding initiatives, and typical corporate website content. While the use of AI-generated content is not unique to Sports Illustrated, with other sports websites also employing similar tactics, the fundamental issue lies in the erosion of authentic journalism and the blurring line between human-generated and AI-generated narratives in the sports media landscape.
