A New York Times critic used AI to write a review. That’s why it’s important

An author and freelance journalist has admitted to using AI to write a book review for The New York Times.

Alex Preston’s review of Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s novel Watching Over Her, published by The New York Times in January, is based on phrases and full paragraphs from the Guardian review by Christobel Kent. The “mistake” was brought to light by a reader who alerted The New York Times to the similarities.

Preston told the Guardian he was “very embarrassed” and had “made a big mistake”.

The Times promptly dropped Preston, calling his “reliance on AI and his use of unattributed work by another author” a “clear violation of Times standards.” The online review is now preceded by an editor’s note informing readers about the issue and providing a link to the Guardian review.

Preston’s apology to the Guardian raises more questions than it solves. The part quoted online seems to relate more to the problem of unattributed work than to his use of AI. It says: “I made a serious mistake while using an AI tool…”