Business · The Register
South Africa yanks AI policy after AI-assisted drafting invents citations
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South Africa has pulled its draft national AI policy after discovering that it was citing sources that exist only in the fertile imagination of a chatbot.
Key facts
- South Africa has now learned that lesson the hard way
- South Africa has pulled its draft national AI policy after discovering that it was citing sources that exist only in the fertile imagination of a chatbot
- The now-defunct policy was sold as a forward-looking framework, full of talk about "intergenerational equity" and AI benefiting current and future generations
- As The Register reported last year, Deloitte had to help clean up a government report in Australia after AI-generated citations and even a made-up court quote slipped through, a reminder that letting
Summary
The country's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies confirmed over the weekend that the draft, which had already cleared Cabinet and was out for public comment, included "various fictitious sources" in its reference list. Communications minister Solly Malatsi said the department rechecked the draft after reports flagged fake references and found some citations were indeed made up, prompting its withdrawal. The document has now been yanked, and Malatsi said that those involved in drafting and sign-off can expect "consequence management. "This unacceptable lapse proves why vigilant human oversight over the use of artificial intelligence is critical.