Facepalm: South African Communications Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed that the recently shared Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy has been withdrawn. The draft was designed to introduce several new regulations governing the use of AI in the country, but it was later found to include "fictitious sources" in its reference list.
Cape Town authorities had effectively asked for public comment on a draft AI bill that contained hallucinated sources.
At least six of the 67 academic papers cited in the draft did not exist, with Malatsi explaining that the most plausible explanation is that they were AI-generated. The fake papers were included without human verification, which "should not have happened" but is now an increasingly common occurrence.
– SollyMalatsi (@SollyMalatsi) April 26, 2026
The fake quotes are not just a simple technical failure, Malatsi said. AI hallucinations have invalidated the entire draft, which is why the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies has decided to redo the bill.
Malatsi said the incident once again demonstrates that AI should always be used with human oversight, and that South African citizens deserve better policy-making than AI-generated content.
"I want to reassure the country that we are treating this matter with the gravity it deserves. There will be consequence management for those responsible for drafting and quality assurance," the minister said.
The original draft included several important innovations related to generative AI and other large language model-based solutions. The bill was intended to create new oversight bodies, including a national AI commission, an AI ethics board, and an AI regulatory authority, among others.
Furthermore, it outlined plans to accelerate responsible AI adoption across South Africa through grants, tax breaks, and subsidies for public – private infrastructure initiatives.
South African officials are expected to revise the AI-hallucinated draft, removing the fake quotes and releasing a new version for public comment. Most of the non-hallucinated provisions included in the first draft will likely be retained in the updated release.
South Africa's Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy is just another entry in the growing list of official, legally binding documents found to contain fabricated references that should not have been included. Consulting firms such as Deloitte are now routinely encountering issues with AI hallucinations in government reporting, while some legal professionals continue to rely on generative AI tools, resulting in inaccurate or low-quality material being included in court filings.