Bill Simmons, the iconoclastic podcaster and sports columnist, often uses his airtime to dissect the foibles of well-known figures such as Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, and Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
But this week the online ire is focused on Mr. Simmons.
Film buffs are complaining about several instances in which Mr. Simmons used ChatGPT — which he sometimes accidentally mispronounces “ChatGBT” — to approximate the opinions of the deceased film critic Roger Ebert in his movie podcast, “The Rewatchables.” Some argued that it was disrespectful of Mr. Ebert; others said it was incongruous that Mr. Simmons, a columnist, would use technology to misappropriate another writer’s work.
Ads from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, have run on the show this year.
Mr. Simmons’s frequent co-host on “The Rewatchables,” Sean Fennessey, inflamed the controversy on Sunday when he publicly criticized that use of A.I. alongside another colleague, Amanda Dobbins. All three work for The Ringer, the media company and podcast network that Mr. Simmons founded in 2016 and is now owned by Spotify.
In an interview on the podcast “Talk Easy,” Sam Fragoso, its host, asked Mr. Fennessey and Ms. Dobbins whether they had a “moral issue” with the use of A.I. to channel Mr. Ebert now that OpenAI was a sponsor.
“We’ve said, ‘Eh, that’s not cool,’” Mr. Fennessey responded, referring to himself and Chris Ryan, another frequent co-host.
In a reaction video that was widely shared online, Ms. Dobbins looked surprised that OpenAI was a sponsor. “Oh, brother,” she said. “OK, well, I didn’t know that.”
Mr. Simmons, Mr. Fennessey and Ms. Dobbins did not respond to requests for comment.
The episode is the latest backlash to artificial intelligence, from concerns about the data centers that power the technology to questions about job displacement and the ownership of creative work. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied the suit’s claims.)
Some of Mr. Simmons closest observers have for months criticized his use of A.I. to conjure Mr. Ebert’s opinions, at least on chat threads dedicated to The Ringer and its podcasters. In March — the last time Mr. Simmons used A.I. to invoke Mr. Ebert from beyond the grave on “The Rewatchables” — Mr. Simmons’s co-hosts pushed back against the segment.
“Roger Ebert sadly passed away in 2013,” Mr. Simmons began.
“You going to disgrace yourself by asking ChatGPT?” Mr. Ryan chimed in.
“I did,” Mr. Simmons said, eliciting laughter and a groan from his co-hosts. “ChatGBT said, ‘Probably three and a half stars.’” The A.I. app said Mr. Ebert “had a strong appreciation for great comedic performances,” Mr. Simmons said.
On an episode in July, Mr. Simmons said he wasn’t including an A.I.-generated “review” from Mr. Ebert because Mr. Ryan had told him not to do it anymore.
During his interview with Mr. Fragoso, Mr. Fennessey also described tension created by Spotify’s decision to license shows created by The Ringer to Netflix.
“There’s an inherent conflict with the work that we’re doing,” Mr. Fennessey said. He added, “I don’t think it totally makes sense for a show that’s covering films released by Netflix to be licensed nonexclusively to Netflix.”
A spokeswoman from Spotify said The Ringer maintained creative control over its programming.
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