New York Times drops freelancer who used AI to write book review
TL;DR: Freelance writer Alex Preston has been dropped by the New York Times after admitting he used an AI tool to help draft a book review. The AI incorporated passages from an existing Guardian review of the same novel, which Preston failed to spot before submission. The incident raises fresh questions about AI use in professional journalism.
The New York Times has cut ties with Alex Preston, a freelance author and journalist, after an investigation found his January review of Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s novel Watching Over Her contained language drawn from an earlier Guardian review by Christobel Kent.
How the overlap was spotted
A Times reader flagged similarities between the two reviews. When confronted, Preston told the paper he had used an AI tool during the drafting process and had not identified the borrowed material before submitting it.
The overlap included near-identical character descriptions and a concluding assessment of the novel. Kent’s Guardian review described the book as “a song of love to a country of contradictions, battered, war-torn, divided, misguided and miraculous.” Preston’s version called it “a love song to a country of contradictions: battered, divided, misguided and miraculous.”
The Times added an editor’s note to the review and confirmed Preston would no longer write for the publication, calling his use of AI and unattributed material “a clear violation of the Times’s standards.”
A reputational blow for an established writer
Preston is a six-time published author and head of advisory at investment firm Man Group. He wrote six reviews for the New York Times between 2021 and 2026, and has contributed to the Observer, FT, and the Economist. He told the Guardian he was “hugely embarrassed” and had “made a serious mistake.”
The case is notable because Preston is not an inexperienced writer cutting corners. Earlier this year, he authored a piece for Man Group titled “The AI Bubble: Hidden Risks and Opportunities” — adding an uncomfortable irony to the situation.
Looking forward
The incident underscores a growing challenge for newsrooms: AI tools that draw on existing published content can introduce unattributed material without the user realising. For editors, this means traditional plagiarism checks may no longer be sufficient. For writers, it serves as a warning that AI-assisted drafting carries real professional risk when outputs are not carefully verified against source material.