Newspapers' AI-generated summer reading list recommends nonexistent books
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NEW YORK — The recommended reading list contained some works of fiction. It also contained some works that were, in fact, actually fictional.
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The 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.
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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.
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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.
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'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,' the syndicators King Features said in a statement, noting it has a strict policy against using AI to create material. Only the Sun-Times and Inquirer have used the supplement, the organization said.
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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. Nightshade Market, by Min Jin Lee, was said to be a 'riveting tale set in Seoul's underground economy.'
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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.
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The Sun-Times said it was investigating whether any other inaccurate information was included in the Heat Index supplement, and reviewing its relationships with other content partners.
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'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.'
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