A Wyoming reporter was caught using AI to create false quotes and interactions to add into his reports. In a digital age where technology is rapidly advancing, an incredibly dishonest trend has begun in the world of journalism. A recent incident involving a reporter in Wyoming has drawn attention after it was revealed that the journalist used artificial intelligence to generate fake quotes for news stories.
The journalist in question, Aaron Pelczar, was working for the local Wyoming news outlet Cody Enterprise when it was revealed he had been using AI quotes when quoting the Wyoming governor, and other various figures.
According to Amy Hanson of the Associated Press, “Quotes from Wyoming’s governor and a local prosecutor were the first things that seemed slightly off to Powell Tribune reporter CJ Baker. Then, it was some of the phrases in the stories that struck him as nearly robotic.”
The Cody Enterprises have expressed their concerns and have made sure to address and remove every single story that Pelczar wrote with the help of AI.
Chris Bacon, the editor of Cody Enterprise, apologized to readers for allowing AI to “put words that were never spoken into stories.”
Bacon also apologized to “the governor, the astronomers, (the) Public Works Director, Warden Crane and any others” that he has not yet been able to confirm as misquoted. “I will eat crow with what dignity I can muster, though pheasant tastes much better,” Bacon wrote. “I will do better.”
Aaron Pelczar has officially resigned from Cody Enterprises and will not be making a return to Journalism given the severity of his actions.
“Obviously I’ve never intentionally tried to misquote anybody,” Pelczar said in CJ Baker’s article in the Powell Tribune.
The usage of AI has been completely abused and will only continue to be misused from here on out especially within journalism. Cody Enterprise has made a promise to never let a situation like this happen again within their company, and will be taking extreme measures to proofread and monitor every article being published on behalf of their company.
