Microsoft Start ran an AI-generated poll asking readers to vote on the cause of a 21-year-old's death

Microsoft's news aggregator placed an AI-generated poll beside a Guardian article about the death of Lilie James, a 21-year-old water polo coach found with serious head injuries at a school in Sydney. The poll asked: "What do you think is the reason behind the woman's death?" Readers picked from murder, accident, or suicide.

Readers assumed the Guardian had run it. One said a reporter bylined on the adjacent story, who had nothing to do with the poll, should be sacked. Guardian Media Group chief executive Anna Bateson wrote to Microsoft president Brad Smith citing "significant reputational damage" and "an inappropriate use of genAI on a potentially distressing public interest story," and asked for assurances that Microsoft would not apply experimental AI alongside Guardian journalism without approval. Microsoft said it had "deactivated Microsoft-generated polls for all news articles" and was investigating. (The Guardian)