Shocking Mistake: Ottawa Food Bank Featured in Microsoft Travel Article as a Tourist Attraction
An article published by Microsoft Travel on its MSN website has caused controversy after featuring the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist attraction in Ottawa, Canada. The article, titled Headed to Ottawa? Here’s what you shouldn’t miss! recommended 15 things to do while visiting the city. However, including the Ottawa Food Bank on the list was seen as inappropriate and insensitive.
The now-deleted article referred to the food bank as the third item on the list, describing it as a place to visit on an empty stomach. This language drew strong criticism from the Ottawa Food Bank’s CEO, Rachael Wilson, who stated that they were shocked to be included in a tourism article in such a manner. Wilson emphasized that encouraging people to visit the food bank on an empty stomach was both insensitive and insulting to the clients of the network of food programs in the city.
Although the mention of the Ottawa Food Bank in the article was seen as a shocking mistake, Wilson acknowledged that it highlighted the issue of food insecurity, which has reached unprecedented levels in the city. With the article being pulled down by Microsoft, the incident has sparked discussions about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating travel content since Microsoft laid off human journalists in 2020 and replaced them with AI.
The now-deleted article featured other errors in its recommendations for visiting Ottawa. It listed the Winterlude Festival as the number one attraction, describing it as the capital’s winter festival where visitors can skate on the world’s largest rink or play on North America’s largest snow. Another mistake was calling Parliament Hill, the symbolic heart of Canada, the metaphorical heart of our country.
Social media users, including Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard and podcast host Paris Marx, were quick to point out the flaws in the article. Commenting on the incident, Picard mentioned Microsoft’s AI-generated travel stories, while Marx humorously referred to the unpredictability of results when using an AI chatbot to write a travel story.
Microsoft has since removed the article from its website and is investigating how it bypassed the review process. CTV News Ottawa reached out to Microsoft for comment, and a senior director from the company stated that they are looking into the matter.
In conclusion, the inclusion of the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist attraction in a Microsoft Travel article has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the use of AI in generating travel content. The insensitive language and errors in the article have drawn criticism, highlighting the importance of maintaining human oversight in such publications. Microsoft’s investigation into the matter will hopefully shed light on how the mistake occurred and prevent similar incidents in the future.
