Semaphor: fake in AI policies in ZA

South Africa withdrew its draft AI policy after it was revealed to contain fictitious, and presumably AI-hallucinated, references. The policy was meant to position the country as a leader in both AI innovation and AI governance, but the irony-laden error has caused a political backlash, not least because the communications minister behind it blamed a junior staffer. The episode follows a similar snafu last year by Deloitte, which refunded the Australian government for an error-filled report partly created by AI. Expert testimony seeking to support a US ban on deepfakes also cited nonexistent research, and computer science conferences are finding themselves increasingly swamped by AI-generated submissions.