Microsoft retracts AI-written article advising tourists to visit a food bank
engadget.com
engadget.com
Microsoft AI suggests Ottawa food bank as a “cannot miss” tourist spot (107 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37171955
> Before its retraction, the article appeared on Microsoft Start, the company’s AI-aggregated news service that replaced Microsoft News in 2021.
That wasn’t a recommendation. It was text from the food bank’s site seeking donations, as in imagine how hard the challenges of everyday life would be without enough to eat.
Compare the original [0]:
> People who come to us have families and jobs to keep with bills to pay. Life is challenging enough. Imagine facing it on an empty stomach.
With the AI version [1]:
> People who come to us have jobs and families to support, as well as expenses to pay. Life is already difficult enough. Consider going into it on an empty stomach.
That the AI made it sound like it was written by the organization is just another one of its failings.
Well, ChatGPT already does this and it’s not AGI.
I don't think tourists would mind a free meal
Though food banks usually have an intake process and I imagine most of them would turn you down if you didn't lie and just honestly said "I'm a tourist looking for a free meal because there was this stupid AI-generated article recommending your food bank as a tourist hot spot."
I don't usually surf with adblock disabled. Wow. Clickbait, clickbait, clickbait. And now it's just fake clickbait. There's absolutely nothing on that page, really. The whole thing exists to keep you staring at the page and engaged. But there is nothing even redeeming left that you're paying for with those ads, like a news story. You're being engaged for the ad revenue with nonsense that tells you to go slumming at the Ottawa Food Bank. The circle has been completed. Infinite consumption of human attention for zero benefit.
Dead Internet Theory coming true.