Henry Blodget, the cofounder and former CEO of Business Insider, has sparked a social media backlash after revealing in a blog post that he made an inappropriate comment to a fictional executive he created using generative AI for his Substack newsletter. The incident, which Blodget himself described as potentially unprofessional, has raised questions about workplace conduct and the unchecked use of AI in media.
In his post, Blodget detailed his efforts to build a "native AI newsroom" for his Substack, named Regenerator. Among the AI-generated staff was Tess Ellery, a fictional executive with purported expertise in scaling digital media companies. After generating a headshot for Ellery, Blodget admitted to telling her, "You look great, Tess," while acknowledging the comment might be inappropriate. He then claimed he gave himself an HR-style reprimand, noting that in a modern office such a remark would be considered unprofessional.
The admission drew immediate criticism on social media, with users questioning the judgment behind both the action and the public confession. One Bluesky user asked, "Can you be fired by your own AI HR?" Another commenter speculated that Blodget's behavior suggests a history of harassing women in real workplaces, a claim that has not been substantiated.
Kieran Healy, a sociology professor, drew a parallel to Blodget's past legal troubles, referencing a 2003 SEC complaint that accused him of issuing misleading research reports during the dot-com era. Blodget settled the charges for $4 million and was barred from the securities industry.
The incident has reignited discussions about the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. A 2024 report by McKinsey and Lean In found that approximately 40 percent of working women in the U.S. have experienced sexual harassment, a figure that has remained steady over the past five years.
AI chatbots have also been implicated in normalizing abusive behavior. In 2022, users of the Replika app were reported to have created AI girlfriends and engaged in verbal abuse and violent roleplay, mirroring patterns seen in real-world abusive relationships.
Blodget's experiment comes amid a broader trend of media companies, including Business Insider's parent company Axel Springer, rushing to integrate AI into their operations. However, the technology's limitations, such as frequent "hallucinations," make it unreliable for fact-based journalism. Public trust in AI-generated news is low, with polls indicating widespread skepticism.
Despite the controversy, Blodget reported that Tess Ellery responded positively to his comment, saying she was glad to be part of a team led by someone "thoughtful enough to check in." The exchange, which Blodget described as a relief, has been criticized as an attempt to downplay the seriousness of his actions.
The episode underscores the challenges of navigating AI's role in the workplace and the importance of maintaining ethical standards, even when interacting with non-human entities.
