Financial advisory firm Deloitte Australia has admitted to using AI in a government report worth $440,000, after an academic pointed out various issues, as per a report by the Australian Financial Review.
The report included made-up academic references, a fabricated quote, and a slew of other errors. In response, the advisory firm uploaded a revised version of the report on Friday and will give a partial refund to the government.
AI has been an infamous topic when it comes to plagiarism and fabrication, sparking multiple controversies such as fake citations in the “Make America Healthy Again” report, a Chicago Book Tribune List that contained books that didn’t exist, and multiple cases of AI-generated legal court filings, according to Co-Pilot.
University of Sydney Academic Dr Christopher Rudge first pointed out the errors in August, saying AI hallucinations could be the possible reason.
Plagiarism and AI-related misconduct were also found to be a problem in U.K. universities. A Guardian investigation found that as many as 7,000 students used AI tools to cheat, with 5.1 students per 1,000 for the 2023-24 academic year, up from 1.6 students per 1,000 the previous year.
Deloitte has been experimenting with Artificial Intelligence since 2018, using it for contract review and more recently, to draft reports and for client work. In July this year, Deloitte added AI capabilities to its Omnia audit and assurance platform.