The New York Times has cut ties with a freelancer after the paper discovered he used AI to help write a book review that inadvertently incorporated elements of a Guardian review on same title.
Readers informed the paper late this month that its Jan. 6 review of “Watching Over Her” by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, written by author and journalist Alex Preston, bore similarities to an August review of the book published in the Guardian.
The Times then launched a review and spoke to Preston, who admitted he used an AI tool to help draft the piece and that he failed to catch the Guardian material before the paper published the review.
“Editors have appended a note to a book review written earlier this year by a freelance critic, who told The Times after publication that he had used an A.I. tool to assist him in producing the piece,” a Times spokesperson said. “This tool produced similarities to a book review published in The Guardian, which our editors’ note makes clear. For staff journalists and freelance writers alike, reliance on A.I. and inclusion of unattributed work by another writer is a serious violation of The Times’s integrity and fundamental journalistic standards.”
Preston told the Times he had not used AI to help draft any of his other stories. The paper notified the Guardian about the similarities and, on Monday, added an editors’ note to the review that noted the use of AI and linked to the Guardian review.
The spokesperson added that Preston, who has written six reviews between 2021 and 2026, would no longer write for the paper.
Preston told TheWrap in an email he used an “A.I. editing tool improperly on a draft I had written” and that he failed to catch “overlapping language” from the Guardian review.
“I took responsibility immediately and apologized to The New York Times,” he said. “Beyond that, I have nothing more to add.”
The Times has been vocal about maintaining transparency and journalistic ethics as it experiments with generative AI, mandating work using the technology be “vetted by our journalists” and “reviewed by editors.” Articles should also explain to readers how AI was used and the process taken to “mitigate risks, such as bias or inaccuracy.”
“The first principles of journalism should apply just as forcefully when machines are involved,” it said in its public principles.
Preston is a six-time author whose most recent book, “A Stranger in Corfu,” was published last month by Pegasus Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster. He has also published pieces in outlets including the Financial Times, the Economist, and the Guardian. Preston told TheWrap he has not used AI on his books or his other published pieces.
Preston also works as the head of advisory for the Man Group, an investment management company.
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