South Africa withdraws its draft AI policy over fake AI citations

South Africa's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies published a draft national AI policy for public comment. Its reference list included invented academic sources. Communications minister Solly Malatsi then withdrew the draft. He said the likeliest cause was AI-generated sources used without verification. He said the failure had compromised the draft's integrity and credibility, and he called it a major embarrassment. The department would act against staff responsible for drafting and quality checks. The draft had proposed new AI oversight bodies, including a commission and an insurance fund for people harmed by AI. Those plans are now shelved.