Brandon Hunter
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

Godawful Obituary of Late NBA Player Reveals Limits of Artificial Intelligence

Brandon Hunter deserved better—but MSN replaced reporters with robot writers in 2020

The idea that creative jobs requiring actual human thinking can easily be replaced by AI hit another setback this week in grotesque fashion: A computer-generated obituary for former NBA player Brandon Hunter shot a massive airball, using awkward phrasing and an insulting headline calling him "useless" that was published by MSN.

Hunter, a former Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic player, died Tuesday after collapsing during a yoga class at the age of 42. While there weren't a lot of details immediately available about Hunter's death, MSN's website published a story soon after that contained absolute gibberish that could only have been created by a non-human with a loose grasp on social norms.

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In the interest of preserving this mistake for future humans battling AI overlords, here it the text in its entirely, removed from MSN but still available in Google Cache:

Brandon Hunter useless at 42
Former NBA participant Brandon Hunter, who beforehand performed for the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, has handed away on the age of 42, as introduced by Ohio males’s basketball coach Jeff Boals on Tuesday.

Hunter, initially a extremely regarded highschool basketball participant in Cincinnati, achieved vital success as a ahead for the Bobcats.

He earned three first-team All-MAC convention alternatives and led the NCAA in rebounding throughout his senior season. Hunter’s expertise led to his choice because the 56th general decide within the 2003 NBA Draft.

Throughout his NBA profession, he performed in 67 video games over two seasons and achieved a career-high of 17 factors in a recreation in opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004.

<End of AI story>

You could call it karma; In 2020, MSN fired human journalists in a cost-saving move. They have already had issues with fake stories since then.

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Wow. Well, however you feel about AI, let's give it up for "performer" and former "extremely regarded highschool basketball participant." We can only hope he would see the humor in this awful attempt at an obituary. For a better one, you can read this at The Hill.