tech
Report supporting Australia’s teen social media ban appears to contain AI hallucinations, Senate hears
Exclusive: Guardian analysis finds one section of report includes links to academic articles that do not exist, but authors deny the references were made up by AI
TL;DR
- A report assessing age verification technology for Australia's social media ban for under-16s contains multiple citation errors.
- The UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) initially denied using AI in the report but later conceded its use for rewriting paragraphs.
- Guardian Australia's analysis identified six references in one section with errors, including non-existent DOIs and incorrect citations.
- The ACCS provided corrections that also contained errors and inconsistencies.
- The federal government is examining the concerns raised and will engage with ACCS.
- Experts warn that false citations in government reports, whether from AI or not, can lead to poor decisions and erode public trust.