Writer Gannett calls timeout on highschool sports writing AI experiment

National newspaper writer Gannett has paused the usage of Lede AI to put in writing highschool sports content material for its papers.

The Lede AI system utilized by Gannett took scoring recaps of highschool video games and produced articles — with distinctive verbiage that turned off some readers. So the writer is sitting the know-how on the bench.

A Columbus Dispatch article used a Spielbergian flip of phrase — “close encounters of the athletic kind” — for a soccer recreation between two Westerville, Ohio, excessive colleges.

A Dispatch soccer article referred to the scoreboard being “in hibernation,” whereas a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report on highschool soccer mentioned that neither group might “dent the scoreboard” within the second half.

An article within the Tennessean drew on the works of American literary forefather Washington Irving, describing the dearth of scoring within the second and fourth quarters of a soccer recreation as a “Rip Van Winkle imitation” by the offenses.

Despite such creativity, a Gannett spokesperson advised Axios, “This local AI sports effort is being paused. … We are continually evaluating vendors as we refine processes to ensure all the news and information we provide meets the highest journalistic standards.”