South Africa’s draft national AI policy has been scrapped after an embarrassing revelation: researchers used AI tools to compile it, and the resulting document was riddled with fabricated academic references. Minister Solly Malatsi withdrew the policy after confirming that fictitious citations had compromised three of its six pillars, including sections on economic transformation and responsible governance. A language model had apparently invented scholarly papers—blending real authors and journals to produce entirely synthetic sources. Malatsi called the failure a serious breach of integrity and pledged accountability for those responsible. The crisis carries a stinging irony: a policy designed to govern AI responsibly was itself undermined by irresponsible AI use, exposing exactly the oversight gaps the document was meant to address.
Daily Maverick
