Australian science publication criticized after publishing AI-generated articles

Cosmos, published by a government-supported Australian organization, used Open AI’s GPT4 to write six articles, some of which contain inaccuracies and inaccuracies.

In Australia cosmosPublished by the National Science Agency, the title is a reference in scientific publications. However, since it published six articles generated by artificial intelligence on its website, the title has become the focus of a controversy, explained the local media ABC on Wednesday, August 7. Quoted by AFP, the president of the Association of Science Journalists, Jackson Ryan, points out simplifications, even errors, in this content generated by a tool that uses GPT4, the AI ​​of the American company OpenAI.

One of the AI-generated articles titled “What happens to our body after death?”explains in particular that signs of rigor mortis appear three to four hours after death. However, according to the specialist, scientific research on this subject is less precise. The description of autolysis, a process in which cells are destroyed by their enzymes, is simply inaccurate, continues Jackson Ryan, fearing that these inaccuracies could damage the trust and perception of readers.

A spokesman for the National Science Agency said the AI ​​content was from a “Qualified scientific tool published by the Cosmos publications team.” According to a spokesman for the publisher cosmos According to ABC, the experience “in constant development”A process that, in his opinion, “may involve changes in the way we program the tool (et) in the way we use it”and added that it will also be up to them “if we continue to use or further develop this tool after the project”.

The magazine cosmos has also been criticized for using journalism grants to build its artificial intelligence capabilities as the use of AI becomes a major battleground for publishers, the president of the Association of Science Journalists told ABC. “In the end, (use IA) is used to save money”says Jackson Ryan, fearing that these developments will be to the detriment of journalists.

In the US, too, the use of AI in news agencies is a cause for great concern. New York Times recently sued OpenAI and Microsoft in a US court, claiming that the companies’ powerful AI models used millions of articles for training without permission.