South Africa’s AI policy withdrawn due to being AI-generated
South Africa has withdrawn its draft national AI policy after it was uncovered that much of the policy was AI-generated.
The communications minister withdrew the policy after noting that six of 67 academic citations were AI-generated and had cited journal articles that do not exist.
Solly Malatsi has since released a statement on the baffling matter, sharing, “The most plausible explanation is that AI-generated citations were included without proper verification. This should not have happened.”
In a post on X, he continued, “This failure is not a mere technical issue but has compromised the integrity and credibility of the draft policy.”
The plan sought to establish plans for new institutions in the country to oversee AI use, such as an AI regulatory authority, an AI ethics board, and a national AI commission.
The lengthy plan also outlined plans for tax breaks, grants, and subsidies, in a bid to encourage private-sector collaboration in building AI infrastructure in the country. From there, it was unveiled for public comment.
After the fraudulent citations were discovered, editors of the journals that allegedly contained the studies, such as the Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy and South African Journal of Philosophy, AI & Society, confirmed that the articles did not exist.
Malatsi has promised that this huge blunder will not go unpunished: “This unacceptable lapse proves why vigilant human oversight over the use of artificial intelligence is critical. It’s a lesson we take with humility.”
He added, “I want to reassure the country that we are treating this matter with the gravity it deserves. There will be consequence management for those responsible for drafting and quality assurance.”
Elsewhere in the world of AI, Moltbook, a new social media exclusively for AI chatbots, gained over one-and-a-half million users almost overnight following its conception in February. On the platform, AI bots can interact with one another, rather than being used exclusively for human purposes.