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Five times AI hallucinations embarrassed governments
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Last month, South Africa withdrew its Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy 17 days after it was published because the document cited fake research, created by AI.
Key facts
- The company republished the corrected study in September and, in November, refunded the government $290,000 out of the $440,000 it had charged for the report
- Deloitte’s use of generative AI in a 526-page, $1.2 million healthcare report for the Newfoundland and Labrador government in Canada led to the inclusion of fake citations, The Independent reported
- In August 2025, the Australian Financial Review raised an alarm over suspected AI use in a Deloitte report commissioned by Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Last month, South Africa withdrew its Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy 17 days after it was published because the document cited fake research, created by AI
Summary
The incident tarnished a historic moment, as South Africa was set to become the first African nation to adopt a policy establishing a formal ethics board to oversee AI outside the West. This is the first time a government has withdrawn a document over AI hallucinations, but certainly not the first time AI hallucinations have appeared in official materials. Here are five times AI put governments in a spot over the past two years:. At least six of the 67 sources in the bibliography of the Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy published in April were AI hallucinations, according to a letter from civil rights group Article One.