# LA Times reportedly removes new AI tool from story after it downplayed KKK

A day after launch of contentious feature, its bias meter said some accounts see Klan as ‘responding to societal changes’

The  has reportedly removed its new  from one of its articles, just a day after launching the feature.

The publication unveiled a  called “Insights” this week, designed to accompany articles that express a particular viewpoint or are “written from a personal perspective”, such as opinion pieces, commentary, and reviews.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the LA Times,  readers on Monday that the feature would offer an “instantly accessible way to see a wide range of different AI-enabled perspectives alongside the positions presented in the article”.

Soon-Shiong also stated  this initiative represents “the next evolution of the LA Times”, aimed at enhancing engagement with its audience.

“I believe providing more varied viewpoints supports our journalistic mission and will help readers navigate the issues facing this nation,” said Soon-Shiong.

The feature now appears at the bottom of select articles in bullet points, with headings for “Viewpoint”, indicating the article’s political stance, and “Perspectives”, summarizing ideas and presenting different views on the topic.

Just one day after its release on Monday, the AI tool has already made headlines for producing controversial results.

Earlier this week,  a 1 March opinion piece from the  that discussed the risks of unregulated AI in historical documentaries. The outlet’s AI tool notes that the article “generally aligns with a Center Left point of view” and states that AI 

Then, on Tuesday, New York Times reporter Ryan Mac  to the note from the AI tool on an  of the city of Anaheim removing KKK members from its city council.

The AI-generated note appeared to downplay the KKK’s racist history, and stated: “Local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of ‘white Protestant culture’ responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement, minimizing its ideological threat.”

The Insights feature  from the article.

The writer, columnist Gustavo Arellano,  to the AI note on his article and said: “Um, AI actually got that right.  have minimized the 1920s Klan as basically anti-racists since it happened. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a guy who’s been covering this for a quarter century.”

The union that represents the LA Times’ journalists  this week expressing their concerns about the use of “AI-generated analysis unvetted by editorial staff”.

They stated that they do not believe this approach will “do much to enhance trust in the media. Quite the contrary, this tool risks further eroding confidence in the news.”

The introduction of AI features at the LA Times comes as last week , the billionaire Amazon founder and owner of the , said that the newspaper  opinions supporting “personal liberties and free markets”.

The LA Times initiative also comes amid  between the owner Soon-Shiong, opinion journalists, and the greater newsroom regarding the newspaper’s direction.

Soon-Shiong had promised the AI tool for several months, first  That same month, he also reportedly  to “take a break” from writing about Donald Trump.

Before that, controversy swirled when Soon-Shiong  from endorsing Kamala Harris for president, leading to  and  at the paper.

The LA Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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