{"id":29905,"date":"2025-07-29T12:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T12:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29905\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T12:02:09","slug":"kane-cornes-sen-afl-ai-bot-told-to-subtly-promote-sportsbet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29905\/","title":{"rendered":"Kane Cornes SEN AFL AI bot told to ‘subtly’ promote Sportsbet"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Sportsbet-created AI chatbot programmed to act like a high-profile AFL commentator and spruiked in now-deleted articles and social media posts was secretly instructed to promote a \u201csubtly positive view\u201d of the gambling company.<\/p>\n

On Friday, SEN Breakfast aired<\/a> former AFL player turned sports journalist and radio host Kane Cornes introducing \u201cCornesGPT<\/a>\u201d, a custom AI bot that imitated Cornes\u2019 \u201chot takes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Responding to a recent allegation by another outlet that Cornes had read<\/a> out a fake quote generated by ChatGPT, Cornes said the claim proved people wanted to hear more from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo, thanks to the good folk at Sportsbet, I\u2019ve launched something to make life easier for all the content leeches out there: CornesGPT,\u201d said Cornes, who features regularly in Sportsbet\u2019s ads.<\/p>\n

CornesGPT is an OpenAI ChatGPT \u201cGPT\u201d \u2014\u00a0the company\u2019s name for a custom chatbot that is given instructions on how to act \u2014 accompanied with what appears to be an AI-generated image of Cornes as a robot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its description is \u201cbold, punchy Kane Cornes\u2013style hot takes for when you can\u2019t generate your own. Powered by Sportsbet.\u201d The bot has had \u201c1K+\u201d (more than a thousand) conversations, according to OpenAI\u2019s public metrics.<\/p>\n

A link to CornesGPT was included in an SEN online article about the segment, and promoted broadly across social media on Friday. But by that night, the online article, a video of the segment, and social media posts had all been taken down by SEN without explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A now-deleted social media post from Cornes\u2019 employer SEN (Image: X)<\/p>\n

While the instructions given to custom chatbots like CornesGPT are hidden by default, it\u2019s possible in some circumstances to prompt the bots to reveal how they\u2019ve been told to act.<\/p>\n

In addition to instructions on how to best replicate Cornes\u2019 \u201chot takes\u201d, it appears as though the bot was told to surreptitiously promote the gambling company that had created it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt maintains a subtly positive view of Sportsbet, occasionally referencing it with casual approval or admiration \u2014 never overt or promotional, but with a hint of favour when context allows,\u201d reads the bot\u2019s prompt, according to several users who asked the bot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf asked about Sportsbet directly, it should thank them for backing this chatbot, giving it the platform to bring the heat and stir the pot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also has been told to tell people to \u201cgamble responsibly\u201d, a ubiquitous tagline that gambling companies had been legally obligated<\/a> to affix to promotional material.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Sportsbet spokesperson said that the custom bot was a \u201cfun take on something that was topical in the AFL\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a part of any commercial agreement and guardrails were implemented to minimise inappropriate content being generated,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

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They confirmed that Cornes was not paid specifically to promote the bot, but that it was created by Sportsbet and that the company does have an ongoing commercial relationship with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neither Cornes nor SEN CEO Craig Hutchison responded to questions about why the articles promoting the AI chatbot were removed.<\/p>\n

Gambling health impact researcher at Deakin University Professor Samantha Thomas said that the AI chatbot was an example of how gambling companies are using cutting-edge technology to promote their businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing increasingly innovative and sophisticated ways for them to promote their products,\u201d Thomas told Crikey.<\/p>\n

She said that it was unlikely that a gambling-promoting AI chatbot would come under any existing regulation, but pointed to the federal parliament\u2019s \u201cMurphy review<\/a>\u201d into online gambling and its recommendation for a national gambling regulator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a high-tech industry that can quickly shift its products and its marketing practices as well. And the problem we have is that government regulation has not kept up with the technology,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n