South Africa has withdrawn its first draft national artificial intelligence (AI) policy after it was discovered that the document contained fictitious sources in its reference list, raising concerns that some citations may have been generated by AI.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi said the most plausible explanation was that AI-generated citations were included without proper verification.
“This should not have happened. This failure is not a mere technical issue but has compromised the integrity and credibility of the draft policy,” he said in a post on X on Sunday.
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The draft policy had been released for public comment ahead of its finalisation and was intended to position South Africa as a continental leader in AI innovation, while addressing ethical, social and economic challenges.
It also proposed the establishment of new institutions, including a National AI Commission, an AI Ethics Board and an AI Regulatory Authority.
In addition, the policy outlined incentives such as tax breaks, grants and subsidies to promote private-sector collaboration.
Malatsi said there would be consequences for those responsible for the drafting process, although he did not indicate when a revised version of the policy would be released.
He said that “the incident highlights the importance of human oversight in the use of artificial intelligence.”
“This unacceptable lapse proves why vigilant human oversight over the use of artificial intelligence is critical. It’s a lesson we take with humility,” Malatsi said.
NAN