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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr.'s error-filled MAHA report sparks speculation it was written by AI
Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proudly boasted about the findings of a 73-page report from the Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again that took what was supposed to be an unvarnished look at the health of the nation's children. 'We will end the childhood chronic disease crisis by attacking its root causes head-on—not just managing its symptoms,' Kennedy said in a statement. 'We will follow the truth wherever it leads, uphold rigorous science, and drive bold policies that put the health, development, and future of every child first,' he continued. 'I'm grateful to President [Donald] Trump for his leadership—and for trusting me to lead this fight to root out corruption, restore scientific integrity, and reclaim the health of our children.' But new reporting suggests that the document misinterprets some of the studies that underpin it, and cites others that don't even exist, the authors told NOTUS, a nonprofit news website that covers national politics and government. For instance, epidemiologist Katherien Keyes is listed in the report as the first author of a study on how anxiety affects adolescents. When NOTUS contacted her for comment, she was 'surprised' to hear about the citation, the website reported. Whiley Keyes does study mental health and substance use, she didn't write the paper, according to NOTUS. 'The paper cited is not a real paper that I or my colleagues were involved with,' Keyes told NOTUS via email. 'We've certainly done research on this topic, but did not publish a paper in JAMA Pediatrics on this topic with that co-author group, or with that title.' Separate reporting by USA TODAY found that the report had misinterpreted a cited article written by Mariana Figueiro, a professor at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine. The government's report had cited Figuerio's study as evidence of the harmful effects that electronic devices can have on children's sleep, NYMag's Intelligencer reported. But according to Figueiro herself, the study had focused on college students. And it measured 'melatonin suppression,' according to USA TODAY. 'The study is ours, but unfortunately, the conclusions in the report are not accurate and the journal reference is incorrect,' Figueiro told USA TODAY in an email. 'We have other papers on the topic… but again, none of them were performed with children.' During a Thursday news conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly downplayed NOTUS's findings on the MAHA report and stood behind it. Still, The New York Times reported that the original version of the report had been taken down and replaced with an updated one, according to NYMag's Intelligencer. The pratfalls, in turn, sparked speculation that RFK Jr.'s team at HHS had used AI to compile the document. New York University expert Ivan Oransky told the Times that he couldn't say for sure that AI had been used for the report, but it did remind him of instances where it had been employed elsewhere. 'We've seen this particular movie before, and it's unfortunately much more common in scientific literature than people would like or than really it should be,' he told the newspaper. Leavitt punted to RFK Jr. when she was asked whether AI had been used to compile the report. 'I can't speak to that,' she said, according to NYMag. Supreme Court lets Trump admin. strip protections for people from 4 countries Tainted by state's drug lab scandal, seized property hangs in balance as US high court weighs taking up case Why the fight over foreign students at Harvard has some US students leaving, too The piece of the Mass. budget that passes all understanding | John L. Micek Quincy residents sue mayor over controversial statues for new public safety building Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
College Students Are Sprinkling Typos Into Their AI Papers on Purpose
To bypass artificial intelligence writing detection, college students are reportedly adding typos into their chatbot-generated papers. In a wide-ranging exploration into the ways AI has rapidly changed academia, students told New York Magazine that AI cheating has become so normalized, they're figuring out creative ways to get away with it. While it's common for students — and for anyone else who uses ChatGPT and other chatbots — to edit the output of an AI chatbot, some are adding typos manually to make essays sound more human. Some more ingenious users are advising chatbots to essentially dumb down their writing. In a TikTok viewed by NYMag, for instance, a student said she likes to prompt chatbots to "write [an essay] as a college freshman who is a li'l dumb" to bypass AI detection. Stanford sophomore Eric told NYMag that his classmates have gotten "really good at manipulating the systems." "You put a prompt in ChatGPT, then put the output into another AI system, then put it into another AI system," he said. "At that point, if you put it into an AI-detection system, it decreases the percentage of AI used every time." The irony, of course, is that students who go to such lengths to make their AI-generated papers sound human could be using that creativity to actually write the dang things. Still, instructors are concerned by the energy students are expending on cheating with chatbots. "They're using AI because it's a simple solution and it's an easy way for them not to put in time writing essays," University of Iowa teaching assistant Sam Williams told the magazine. "And I get it, because I hated writing essays when I was in school." When assisting a general education class on music and social change last fall, Williams said he was shocked by the change in tone and quality between students' first assignments — a personal essay about their own tastes — and their second, which dug into the history of New Orleans jazz. Not only did those essays sound different, but many included egregious factual errors like the inclusion of Elvis Presley, who was neither a part of the Nola scene nor a jazz musician. "I literally told my class, 'Hey, don't use AI,'" the teaching assistant recalled. "'But if you're going to cheat, you have to cheat in a way that's intelligent. You can't just copy exactly what it spits out.'" Students have seemingly taken that advice to heart — and Williams, like his colleagues around the country, is concerned about students taking their AI use ever further. "Whenever they encounter a little bit of difficulty, instead of fighting their way through that and growing from it, they retreat to something that makes it a lot easier for them," the Iowa instructor said. It's a scary precedent indeed — and one that is, seemingly, continuing unabated. More on AI cheating: Columbia Student Kicked Out for Creating AI to Cheat, Raises Millions to Turn It Into a Startup
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Former Fetterman Staffer Sent Warning Letter To Doctor About Senator's 'Bad Trajectory': Report
Sen. John Fetterman's former chief of staff wrote a letter to a doctor involved with the Pennsylvania senator's treatment for clinical depression, detailing 'warning signs' and expressing concern for the senator's mental health. New York Magazine reported Friday that Adam Jentleson, who served as Fetterman's chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, listed a number of concerns in the letter, including worry that the senator was not taking his medication as prescribed and was not following through with checkups. Jentleson had previously communicated updates about the senator's care to the public after Fetterman checked into a hospital in February 2023 to receive treatment for clinical depression. Fetterman remained there for six weeks, and declared his depression 'in remission' when he left. Fetterman previously had a stroke in May 2022, during his Senate campaign. One year after Fetterman completed his inpatient treatment, Jentleson detailed 'warning signs we discussed' to David Williamson, a doctor who had helped with Fetterman's care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. 'I think John is on a bad trajectory and I'm really worried about him,' Jentleson said in his letter, according to NY Mag. The New York Times also obtained a copy of the letter, which was sent via email with the subject line, 'concerns.' 'Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never reads memos); high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room,' Jentleson said, according to NY Mag. Jentleson also expressed worry about Fetterman purchasing a gun, and said he'd warned others not to get in a car with Fetterman if the senator was driving. The New York Times reports Fetterman called the NY Mag article — which also detailed the concerns of other staffers and alleged worried comments from Fetterman's wife Gisele — a 'hit piece,' and said 'my ACTUAL doctors and my family affirmed that I'm very well.' Gisele Fetterman told NY Mag Jentleson told her 'scary, untrue stories about John's health.' During his time in the Senate, Fetterman has become known as a staunch ally for Israel, and has been more willing to break with progressive Democrats on a number of issues. He was the first sitting Democratic senator to meet with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Express Tribune
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Who is the 'mysterious woman' on NYMag's controversial cover? MAGA fans can't get enough
A mysterious woman in a black lace dress has taken social media by storm after appearing on the cover of New York Magazine's controversial article on young MAGA supporters. The cover, which featured a group of well-dressed conservatives at a Washington inauguration party, quickly became a viral sensation, with many fans dubbing the unidentified brunette their 'Roman Empire.' For our latest cover story, — New York Magazine (@NYMag) 'Bottom left is my Roman Empire,' a user wrote on X, with others praising her appearance and speculating about her identity. 'Legit beautiful. Could be a low-tier model or influencer, I'm sure,' one user commented, while another joked, 'Thanks to this picture, I just joined the Republican party, and I'm not even American.' Bottom left is my Roman Empire. — Jack Mac (@JackMacCFB) Thanks to this picture, I just joined the Republican party and I am not even American. — Jürgen Ignoto (@jurgenignoto) However, the magazine's cover has also sparked backlash after critics accused it of selectively cropping out Black attendees to push a misleading narrative. The event's host, conservative activist CJ Pearson, took to X to call out New York Magazine , writing, 'This is insane. I hosted this event and @NYMag intentionally left me out of their story because it would have undermined their narrative that MAGA is some racist cult.' 🚨🚨This is insane. I hosted this event and You don't hate the… — CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) Other attendees also voiced their frustration, with one stating, 'I was at this party, as were MANY other Conservative media influencers who are Black, Latino, Asian, etc.' The article itself painted the attendees as 'young, gleeful, and casually cruel,' describing them as a new wave of urban, well-connected conservatives breaking away from the traditional Trump supporter mold. The journalist noted that the event was filled with 'crypto nerds, influencer girlies, and recent MAHA (Make America Hot Again) converts,' while also describing the women as 'hot enough to be extras in the upcoming American Psycho remake.' As the controversy continues to unfold, the magazine's journalist has since locked their X account in response to the growing backlash. Meanwhile, the viral partygoer remains unidentified, adding to the intrigue surrounding the now-infamous cover photo.
