Fictional fiction: A newspaper’s summer book list recommends nonexistent books. Blame AI

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News building in Philadelphia is shown in a file photo from Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

NEW YORK — The recommended reading list contained some works of fiction. It also contained some works that were, in fact, actually fictional.

The content distributor King Features says it has fired a writer who used artificial intelligence to produce a story on summer reading suggestions that contained books that didn’t exist.

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.

More than half of the books listed were fake, according to the piece’s author, Marco Buscaglia, who admitted to using AI for help in his research but didn’t double-check what it produced. “A really stupid error on my part,” Buscaglia wrote on his Facebook page.

AI has bedeviled some news organizations

It’s the latest instance of an AI shortcut backfiring and embarrassing news organizations. Sports Illustrated was caught in 2023 listing nonexistent authors for product reviews carried on its website. The Gannett news service had to pause an experiment using AI for sports stories after errors were discovered.

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

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.

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.

Syndicated features are common for newspapers

The Inquirer has used King Features for comics, puzzles and other material for more than 40 years, said Lisa Hughes, its publisher and CEO. “The Inquirer newsroom is not involved in the production of these syndicated features, nor was it involved in creating Heat Index,” she said.

The blunder was first reported by the tech publication 404 Media.

It was not clear who at King Features had responsibility for editing Bascaglia’s material. The Chicago-based writer said on Facebook that “I am completely at fault here -- just an awful oversight and a horrible mistake.”

“I’m not really sure I bounce back from this situation career-wise,” he said. “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.”