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The “Department of Hallucinated Technology”, that’s what a Member of Parliament (MP) has suggested the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) be renamed to, following the botched draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy. There has been furore about the consequence management in the wake of South Africa’s now withdrawn policy, as if the hot takes and think pieces about the document weren’t enough.

For a recap, experts from across industry verticals expressed criticism and questions about the policy, pleading for less complicated wording, a less bureaucratic take on AI and to have their voices heard. Among some of the notable issues with the policy was the creation of six new regulatory-type bodies while simultaneously assigning the work of regulating AI to regulators such as the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. It turns out the proposal of six new regulatory-type bodies was only the tip of the iceberg for the DCDT, because it soon emerged that the policy document had at least six AI-generated fictitious sources in the 67 references cited in the policy document.