Bill Simmons draws criticism over ChatGPT podcast sponsorship
Simmons let ChatGPT answer a question about Russell Westbrook on his podcast and touted the AI firm as sponsor, drawing accusations of betraying media and writing.
Bill Simmons has taken to promoting ChatGPT on his own podcast, telling listeners during a recent episode about Russell Westbrook's retirement that the platform now backs the show.
«is brought to you by ChatGPT, the Bill Simmons Podcast AI sponsor».
Simmons had asked ChatGPT to name Westbrook's defining game and read out its answer to his guest, The Ringer contributor Kirk Goldsberry, before urging his audience to try the tool themselves.
Large language models have been blamed for cutting traffic to sites across the media industry, which made the sponsorship arrangement an odd fit for a company built on that kind of writing.
He is not alone in taking AI money. Other podcasts, including the Joe Rogan Experience and This American Life, have run similar sponsorships.
About this article
Prepared by the newsroom with algorithmic assistance and checked against sources