Grammarly disables controversial 'Expert Review' feature after backlash
What's the story
Grammarly, the popular writing assistant owned by Superhuman, has decided to disable its highly controversial "Expert Review" feature. The tool had drawn flak from journalists, authors and academics for impersonating both living and deceased writers without their consent. The feature was designed to enhance users' writing by providing suggestions inspired by leading professionals, authors and subject-matter experts.
Backlash
Feature drew flak from experts, journalists
The "Expert Review" feature, which was only available beyond a free trial via the company's $12-a-month Pro subscription, drew an overwhelmingly negative response. Tech journalist Kara Swisher slammed the tool for stealing information and identity. She said, "You rapacious information and identity thieves better get ready for me to go full McConaughey on you," adding that "Also, you suck."
Response
Feature disabled for now
In light of the backlash, Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman, announced that the company is disabling the controversial feature. He said this decision comes "while we reimagine the feature to make it more useful for users, while giving experts real control over how they want to be represented, or not represented at all."
Apology
We take this kind of scrutiny seriously: CEO
Mehrotra acknowledged the criticism from experts who felt their voices were misrepresented by the tool. He said, "This kind of scrutiny improves our products, and we take it seriously." The CEO also apologized for falling short on this issue and promised to rethink their approach going forward. However, it remains to be seen if this decision will quell public outrage over the matter.
Issues
Tool also highlighted limitations of LLMs
The "Expert Review" feature also highlighted the limitations of large language model-based tools. Even when author Benjamin Dreyer copy-pasted lorem ipsum text, a placeholder text used in graphic design, the tool suggested tips from writers such as Stephen King. A disclaimer buried deep in the company's documentation stated that references from these experts "are for informational purposes only and do not indicate any affiliation with Grammarly or endorsement by those individuals or entities."