Microsoft that is a key player in the provision of news is under scrutiny for allegedly amplifying false and bizarre stories through its AI-driven approach.
The company’s homepage, including MSN.com and Microsoft Start, is a major news source for millions of users globally.
In 2018, Microsoft employed over 800 editors to curate news content. However, in recent years, the company has shifted towards automation, replacing editors with what is believed to be AI technology.
This move has raised concerns as false stories, such as claims of President Joe Biden falling asleep during a moment of silence for Maui wildfire victims or a conspiracy theory linking the Democratic Party to the surge in Covid-19 cases, gained prominence on the site.
Microsoft’s early investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has positioned it at the forefront of the AI revolution. Still, the recent use of AI in disseminating misleading information has sparked questions about responsible AI adoption.
Tensions escalated when The Guardian accused Microsoft of damaging its reputation by using AI inappropriately. Microsoft’s licensing agreements with major news organizations, including The Guardian and CNN, allow it to republish articles for a share of advertising revenue. However, recent incidents, such as an AI-generated poll accompanying a sensitive article about a murder victim, have led to public outcry.
The Guardian’s CEO, Anna Bateson, criticized Microsoft’s application of AI, emphasizing the potential distress caused to families and the damage to the newspaper’s reputation. Microsoft responded by disabling polls on news articles and investigating the incident, acknowledging the inappropriate content.
This isn’t the first blunder for Microsoft. Earlier, false stories about President Biden and an NBA player, Brandon Hunter, were featured on the homepage, along with a fabricated article about San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston’s resignation. Former Microsoft editors revealed that the use of AI has led to the promotion of false or low-quality stories that wouldn’t have gained prominence under human curation.
Ryn Pfeuffer, a former Microsoft editor, expressed concern about the radical shift in the site’s content, highlighting the absence of objective curation. While Microsoft claimed to transition to a personalized feed tailored by algorithms in 2020, questions persist about the extent to which human editors are involved.
The Guardian’s letter to Microsoft accused the tech giant of failing to respond adequately to questions about AI use in journalism. Microsoft acknowledged the need for adjustments and policy updates, committing to addressing issues with low-quality articles in collaboration with content partners.
Users like Ferris Kawar reported a noticeable shift in content after Microsoft’s move to AI-driven curation. Sensationalist and politically skewed headlines appeared prominently, prompting Kawar to switch his default browser back to Google Chrome.
As Microsoft grapples with criticisms and concerns, the implications of AI in news curation, responsible technology use, and the societal impact of misinformation have come to the fore and ended up making the news themselves.
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