Anyone looking for an example of a failed news story developed with the power of technology doesn’t need to look further than Microsoft.
An article published on msn.com directed tourists visiting Canada’s capital to the Ottawa Food Bank. The article was titled “Headed to Ottawa? Here’s what you shouldn’t miss!”
Paris Marx, host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, pointed out the blunder on Twitter X. While Microsoft has pulled the article, The Verge included a screenshot of the recommendation in its reporting.
Microsoft is really hitting it out of the park with its AI-generated travel stories! If you visit Ottawa, it highly recommends the Ottawa Food Bank and provides a great tip for tourists: “Consider going into it on an empty stomach.” https://t.co/7bvGemDad2
— Paris Marx (@parismarx) August 17, 2023
The article listed the food bank third and included a short description under its logo, recommending visitors “consider going into it on an empty stomach.”
Microsoft laid off dozens of journalists in 2020 in order to implement a news cycle run by AI. While Microsoft has stated the article in question didn’t involve AI, it did have a technical background.
“This article has been removed and we have identified that the issue was due to human error,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to MobileSyrup.
“The article was not published by an unsupervised AI. We combine the power of technology with the experience of content editors to surface stories. In this case, the content was generated through a combination of algorithmic techniques with human review, not a large language model or AI system. We are working to ensure this type of content isn’t posted in future.”
The demand for food banks has increased across Canada over the years, something the Ottawa Food Bank has experienced firsthand. According to reporting from the CBC, the organization had to move to a larger location to cater to rising demand, as visits increased by 85 percent since 2019.
“The ‘empty stomach’ line is clearly insensitive and didn’t pass by a [human] editor,” Samantha Koziara, Ottawa Food Bank’s communications manager, told The Verge. “I don’t doubt an increased number inaccurate/inappropriate references will be made in listicles such as this.”
Updated August 18th, 2023, 3:24pm ET: The article has been updated with a statement from Microsoft.
Image credit: Shutterstock
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