{"id":9904,"date":"2026-04-01T14:08:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/nyt-cuts-ties-with-writer-ai\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:08:01","slug":"nyt-cuts-ties-with-writer-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/nyt-cuts-ties-with-writer-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"NYT Cuts Ties With Writer as Scrutiny of AI Content Grows"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amid mounting scrutiny<\/a> into AI usage creeping into the newspaper of record, the New York Times <\/em>has cut ties with a freelance writer after discovering he turned to an AI model to help write a book review, The Guardian <\/em>reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A thudding prose style wasn\u2019t the giveaway this time, but accidentally-cribbed work. The NYT <\/em>was alerted to the issue by a reader who observed that a January review<\/a> of \u201cWatching Over Her\u201d by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, written by author and journalist Alex Preston, bore remarkable similarities to a review of the same book by Christobel Kent that was published in The Guardian<\/em><\/a> <\/em>last August.<\/p>\n

After the NYT <\/em>launched an investigation, Preston admitted he used an AI tool to help draft the review and failed to spot the sections that were pulled from The Guardian<\/em>. In a statement to the British newspaper, which Preston has previously written for, Preston said he was \u201chugely embarrassed\u201d and had \u201cmade a serious mistake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEditors have appended a note to a book review written earlier this year by a freelance critic, who told The Times <\/em>after publication that he had used an AI tool to assist him in producing the piece,\u201d an NYT <\/em>spokesperson told The Wrap<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cThis tool produced similarities to a book review published in The Guardian<\/em>, which our editors\u2019 note makes clear. For staff journalists and freelance writers alike, reliance on AI and inclusion of unattributed work by another writer is a serious violation of The Times<\/em>\u2018s integrity and fundamental journalistic standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The similarities are deep, and come from a passage describing the book\u2019s colorful dramatis personae.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A portion of the original reads: \u201cBut the novel is also rich in smaller characters, from the lazy Machiavellian Stefano to hardworking Vittorio, whose otherworldly twin brother Emmanuele is prone to speaking in tongues and dressing up in ragtag begged-and-borrowed uniforms\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Preston\u2019s review: \u201cThe novel is also rich in secondary characters, from the lazy, Machiavellian Stefano to Mimo\u2019s childhood friend and fellow craftsman Vittorio and Vittorio\u2019s otherworldly twin, Emanuele, who speaks in tongues and dresses in scavenged uniforms\u201d \u2014 and so forth.<\/p>\n

According to the editor\u2019s note, dated March 30, Preston claims he didn\u2019t use AI in previous reviews for the NYT<\/em>, and that while conducting the investigation the paper \u201cfound no issues in those pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the more baffling cases of an AI contretemps. Preston is an accomplished author with six novels under his belt, and has written heaps for major publications like the NYT<\/em>, The Guardian<\/em>, and the Financial Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But other AI journalism scandals further illustrate that even seasoned writers can be lulled into letting their guard down when using the tech, which is prone to hallucinating and cobbling together other people\u2019s work without attribution. Last month, Ars Technica <\/em>fired a senior tech reporter<\/a> after he accidentally included AI-fabricated quotes in an article, an error the reporter claims arose after he asked an AI tool to generate notes.<\/p>\n

Incidents like those have contributed to an ambient paranoia over how AI may be sneaking its way into even the most venerable journalistic institutions, much of which has centered recently on the NYT<\/em>. Earlier this month, a flurry of speculation rekindled around a piece published in the paper\u2019s \u201cModern Love\u201d column which readers accused<\/a> of sounding \u201cEXACTLY like AI slop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days later, The Atlantic <\/em>published a piece on a recent study using the latest AI detection software that found that the opinion section of outlets like the NYT <\/em>and The Wall Street Journal <\/em>were six times more likely to contain AI-generated prose than their news articles<\/a>, with the upshot that all had likely published AI-written content, unknowingly or otherwise, at some point. In The Atlantic <\/em>piece, the author of the NYT <\/em>column in question admitted to using AI chatbots like ChatGPT \u201ccollaborative editor\u201d for seeking \u201cinspiration and guidance and correction.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on AI:<\/strong> Wikipedia Editors Tried and Tried to Work With AI Content, Eventually Realized It Was Total Trash and Banned It Entirely<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The post NYT Cuts Ties With Writer as Scrutiny of AI Content Grows<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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