Digital scandal at Los Angeles Times
Billionaire and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who introduced a new AI tool for generating opposing perspectives to opinion section materials, was unaware that the system created pro-KKK arguments less than 24 hours after launch — and even hours after the scandalous AI comments were removed from the publication’s website. The incident created a huge obstacle for the Times, which seeks to bring back old subscribers and attract new ones through innovative technological solutions.
During an interview with CNN, Soon-Shiong, the executive chairman of the Times, admitted that he had not seen either the original article or the AI-generated response. However, he noted that the removal of content showed the presence of operational “checks and balances” in the newly introduced system, characterizing the moment as a learning opportunity.
“(This incident) is a good lesson showing that artificial intelligence is not yet fully ready (…) this is an attempt to understand its capabilities,” Soon-Shiong stated.
Early Tuesday morning, the new AI tool generated counterarguments to a column by Times journalist Gustavo Arellano from February 25. In his article, Arellano argued that Anaheim, California, should not forget the role of the Ku Klux Klan in its past, calling the white supremacist group “a stain on a place that likes to celebrate the positive,” and linking it to today’s political landscape. However, the alternative views generated by the Times’ AI presented a softer vision of the far-right group, calling it a reaction of “white Protestant culture” to social changes, rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement.”
Although the AI-generated comments were subsequently removed from the material, and Arellano himself noted that “AI actually got this right,” since “Orange County residents have been downplaying the significance of the Klan since the 1920s, portraying them as essentially anti-racists,” the owner’s lack of awareness about the brewing scandal represents a glaring problem.
Arellano’s column is not the only material containing errors or misleading comments generated by AI within the first 24 hours after the tool’s implementation. Scott Jennings’ op-ed about President Donald Trump’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires was criticized after the Times system characterized the material as centrist, despite its right-leaning theses. The AI-generated alternative perspective also failed to mention the fact that Trump threatened to deny Los Angeles federal aid if its leadership did not meet certain requirements.
