South Africa pulls AI policy after hallucinated citations expose drafting scandal
South Africa's Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy was withdrawn after it was discovered that the document contained fictitious academic citations generated by AI hallucinations. The policy proposed establishing a National AI Commission and an AI Insurance Superfund to compensate citizens harmed by AI.
South Africa's Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has withdrawn the country's Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy due to a scandal involving fabricated academic citations. The policy document contained at least six fictitious references out of 67, with journals and authors that do not exist. The drafters appeared to have used a generative AI tool to produce the citations without verifying them. The policy had been approved by Cabinet and published in the Government Gazette for public comment. It proposed a new AI governance ecosystem, including a National AI Commission and an AI Insurance Superfund. The minister attributed the failure to an 'unacceptable lapse' that highlights the need for vigilant human oversight over AI use.
This content was automatically generated and/or translated by AI. It may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original sources for verification.