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Australia social media ban report found to contain AI-generated fake citations
An investigation by The Guardian has revealed that a key report used to support Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 contains fabricated scientific citations likely generated by AI. The report, produced by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) as part of a $3.48 million trial, was used by Communications Minister Anika Wells to demonstrate the feasibility of age-verification technologies.
While the ACCS initially denied using artificial intelligence, the organization later admitted to using ChatGPT to rewrite certain paragraphs for brevity. However, an analysis identified at least six references containing significant errors, including Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) that link to non-existent papers or incorrect research.
The discovery has prompted an Australian government investigation and a Senate inquiry. Experts, including Professor Christian Downie from the Australian National University, have warned that such errors could erode public trust in government decision-making. Meanwhile, independent Senator Fatima Payman has called for the immediate return of the funds and a public apology.
Entities
Age Check Certification Scheme · Anika Wells · Australia · Australian National University · Australian Senate · ChatGPT · The Guardian · The Guardian Australia
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 6 SOURCES] The Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) is a UK-based organization that produced the report. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The age-verification technology trial cost $3.48 million. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] An analysis identified six references in the report containing errors. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The Age Check Certification Scheme denies that AI was used to generate the research or the citations themselves. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] Some citations include Digital Object Identifiers that link to non-existent papers. www.theguardian.com · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · tocka.com.mk · happymag.tv · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The Australian government is investigating the reported errors in the report. happymag.tv · atvbl.rs · tocka.com.mk · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The report provided evidence used to support Australia's social media ban for children under 16. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) admitted to using ChatGPT to rewrite paragraphs for brevity. happymag.tv · www.theguardian.com · hnonline.sk · tyden.cz · atvbl.rs · +1 more