South Africa has withdrawn its draft national AI policy after fictitious references, believed to be AI-generated, were found in the document.
South Africa has withdrawn its first draft national artificial intelligence policy after fictitious sources were discovered in the reference list. The document had been released earlier this month for public comment and aimed to position the country as a leader in AI innovation across Africa.
Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said, “The most plausible explanation is that AI-generated citations were included without proper verification. This should not have happened.” He added that the failure had “compromised the integrity and credibility of the draft policy.”
The draft proposed creating a National AI Commission, an AI Ethics Board and an AI Regulatory Authority, alongside incentives for private-sector investment. Malatsi said there would be consequences for those responsible and stressed that strong human oversight of AI remains essential.