The Publisher of Sports Illustrated Ousts CEO Following AI Controversy
The publisher of Sports Illustrated ousted its chief executive officer on Monday following public backlash over the sport's magazine's alleged use of AI to write stories.
The Arena Group's termination of CEO Ross Levinsohn came as the media giant's board members met on Monday to consider measures to "improve [the company's] operational efficiency and revenue," the company said in a statement posted on its site. The decision comes after SI became steeped in public controversy over allegations it used AI to generate content and fictitious author bios for its website.
The alleged AI-generated content was first reported by tech-focused publication Futurism. According to a post by a spokesperson for Arena Group on SI's X account in November, the questionable content included articles and product reviews from AdVon Commerce, a third-party content provider.
"AdVon has assured us that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans," the X post read.
Stories removed from site
Though it denied the report that the famed publication produced articles written by artificial intelligence, Arena Group also noted that it had withdrawn the alleged AI-generated stories pending an ongoing internal investigation.
Arena Group Fires CEO Ross Levinsohn Amidst Leadership Shakeup
Arena Group, the media conglomerate that owns over 250 brands, has fired CEO Ross Levinsohn. The company's majority stakeholder, Manoj Bhargava, has been appointed as the interim CEO.
This move comes after three other high-level terminations at Arena Group last week, including the Chief Operating Officer, media president, and corporate counsel.
Levinsohn, who has an extensive career in the media industry, previously served as the interim CEO of Yahoo and held senior leadership roles at HBO and CBS Sportsline.
The firing of Levinsohn has caused a decline in Arena Group's stock, with shares trading over 5% lower.
