Newspaper's summer book list recommended nonexistent books

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NEW YORK - A new summer reading featured not only fiction – but fiction that was completely fabricated. 

Content distributor King Features confirmed it fired a writer who used artificial intelligence to produce a story on summer reading suggestions that included book titles that don’t actually exist.

Author fired after using AI to produce story featuring fake books

The list appeared in "Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer," a special section distributed in Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer last week.

The offices of the Chicago Sun-Times sit along the Chicago River on December 2, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

According to the piece’s author, Marco Buscaglia, more than half of the books listed were fake. He admitted to using AI for help in his research but didn't double-check what it produced.

What they're saying:

"A really stupid error on my part," Buscaglia wrote on his Facebook page.

"I'm not really sure I bounce back from this situation career-wise," he continued. "I have a lot of stories left in me but I am fully accountable for what happened and will have to endure the effects, whatever they may be."

Dig deeper:

Among the summer reading suggestions was "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir, described as "a science-driven thriller following a programmer who discovers an AI system has developed consciousness" and been secretly influencing world events. "Nightshade Market," by Min Jin Lee, was said to be a "riveting tale set in Seoul's underground economy."

Both authors are real, but the books aren't. "I have not written and will not be writing a novel called ‘Nightshade Market,’" Lee posted on X.

What they're saying:

"The Heat Index summer supplement was created by a freelance contract creator who used AI in its story development without disclosing the use of AI," the syndicators King Features said in a statement, noting it has a strict policy against using AI to create material. Only the Sun-Times and Inquirer have used the supplement, the organization said.

The Sun-Times said it was investigating whether any other inaccurate information was included in the "Heat Index" supplement, and reviewing its relationships with other content partners.

"We are in a moment of great transformation in journalism and technology, and at the same time our industry continues to be besieged by business challenges," the newspaper said. "This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued — and valuable — because of the humanity behind it."

Both the Sun-Times and Inquirer said they have removed the supplement from its digital editions. The Inquirer special section was published on May 15.

AI incidents at news organizations

The backstory:

King Features distributes comics like "Blondie" and "Beetle Bailey," political columns from Amy Goodman and Rich Lowry, and advice features like "Hints From Heloise."

This news comes following other AI shortcuts that have raised problems within news organizations.

In 2023, Sports Illustrated was caught using nonexistent authors for product reviews carried on its website. 

A report from Futurism featured several screenshots from the Sports Illustrated website that appeared to show the fabricated author profiles with profile pictures that also appeared to link back to a website that sells AI-generated headshots. 

RELATED: Sports Illustrated parent company denies publishing AI-generated articles, blames third party

The Gannett news service had to pause an experiment using AI for sports stories after the errors were discovered.