Newfoundland and Labrador Overhauls Procurement After AI-Generated False Citations in Reports
The Newfoundland and Labrador government overhauled its procurement process after false citations thought to be AI-generated appeared in reports submitted to the province, including one from Deloitte Canada. Vendors bidding on government contracts must now disclose their intended use of AI, and the province can audit companies' AI usage.
What happened
False citations thought to be generated by artificial intelligence were found in two reports submitted to the Newfoundland and Labrador government. One report was prepared by the Education Accord team tasked with forming a 10-year education improvement plan; the other was a human resources plan for health-care staff prepared by Deloitte Canada for the Provincial Health Department.
Deloitte stated it used AI 'to support a small number of research citations' and has revised the document with citation corrections.
Reported impact
The false citations attracted attention from across the country amid widespread scrutiny of large language models and their use. The government reviewed options related to compensation for the mistakes in the Deloitte report.
Index analysis
The citations referred to sources that appeared not to exist.
Governance controls
The Newfoundland and Labrador government overhauled its procurement process in response. Vendors bidding on work for the provincial government must now disclose if they intend to use artificial intelligence in completing the contract, said Barry Petten, the Progressive Conservative minister responsible for public procurement.
The province can also audit a company's use of AI. The changes position Newfoundland and Labrador as one of the leading provinces when it comes to setting guardrails on the use of artificial intelligence by contractors.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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