Google app hiccup jumps the gun before the Eagles-Commanders game with AI-generated victory post
An AI hallucination had the Eagles defeating the Commanders - hours before the game even started.
Hours before kickoff in Saturday’s Eagles-Commanders matchup, a Google app jumped the gun with an AI-generated post that the Birds had won the game.
The artificial intelligence hiccup, known as a hallucination, had the Eagles winning 27-17 and clinching the NFC East title. It even included made-up game highlights — Jalen Hurts throwing for over 200 yards and Saquon Barkley scoring a key touchdown. (Here in the real world, Hurts threw for 185 yards in a 29-18 Eagles win; Barkley did in fact run for a TD as the Birds became the champs of the NFC East.)
The false information was easily identified because the game had not started, but that is not always the case with AI hallucinations in legal cases and financial reporting, said Subodha Kumar, a professor of statistics, operations, and data science at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.
“Sometimes it is so wrong that you can detect it,” Kumar said in an interview Saturday. “Sometimes you cannot.”
The fake post was captured by Reddit Philadelphia users. Such erroneous AI-generated posts are user-specific and often deleted. A line at the bottom of the post cautioned: “Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.”
The post linked to an accurately reported 6abc game preview story noting that the Eagles could become the first NFC East team since 2004 to win back-to-back division titles.
Kumar said the hallucinations typically link to a news article or published reference to give the false information the appearance of legitimacy.
Eagles fans commented on the error on Reddit. Some immediately recognized it as an AI mistake; others worried that it could be a jinx for the Eagles.
“Crossing my fingers but jeepers Google kind of jumped the gun this morning,” one wrote.
“I saw this and thought — did I miss a game?” another commented.
Another wrote: “‘Generated with AI, which can make mistakes’ is the understatement of the year.”
Hallucinations occur when a generative AI model confidently presents false or misleading information as a fact, rather than a prediction, Kumar said.
They are most common in big sporting events, like the 2024 Super Bowl, when two AI chatbots made up statistics when questioned about the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. (The Chiefs won in overtime.)
There have also been false AI-generated election results, financial reports, and legal decisions, Kumar said. The biggest impact may be false financial reports, which can affect the stock market, he said.
“Clearly, this is a big problem,” Kumar said. “We have to be careful using the results for critical decision-making.”
Kumar said guardrails currently are not properly designed to prevent such errors, but the technology has improved in recent years.
More companies have added fact-checking technology to alert the algorithm before it generates erroneous content, he said.
Asked Saturday afternoon to predict the Eagles game, Kumar quipped: “I will leave it to AI.”