US content distributor King Features says it has fired a writer who used artificial intelligence to produce a story on summer reading suggestions that contained books that didn’t exist.
The list appeared in “Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer,” a special section distributed in Sunday’s Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer last week.
More than half of the books listed were fake, according to the piece’s author, Marco Buscaglia, who admitted to using AI for help in his research but didn’t double-check what it produced.
“A really stupid error on my part,” Buscaglia wrote on his Facebook page. “I’m not really sure I bounce back from this situation career-wise,” he added. “I have a lot of stories left in me but I am fully accountable for what happened and will have to endure the effects, whatever they may be.”
Among the summer reading suggestions was “The Last Algorithm” by Andy Weir, described as “a science-driven thriller following a programmer who discovers an AI system has developed consciousness” and been secretly influencing world events.
Elsewhere, “Nightshade Market” by Min Jin Lee was said to be a “riveting tale set in Seoul’s underground economy.”
Both authors are real, but the books aren’t.
“I have not written and will not be writing a novel called ‘Nightshade Market,’” Lee posted on X.
The syndicators King Features said in a statement: “The Heat Index summer supplement was created by a freelance contract creator who used AI in its story development without disclosing the use of AI.”
They noted they have a strict policy against using AI to create material. Only the Sun-Times and Inquirer have used the supplement, the organization added.
“We are in a moment of great transformation in journalism and technology, and at the same time our industry continues to be besieged by business challenges,” the newspaper said. “This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued – and valuable – because of the humanity behind it.”
Both the Sun-Times and Inquirer said they have removed the supplement from its digital editions.
