By Justin Brake | The Independent
Two days after The Independent first reported the presence of fake citations in a $1.6 million government-commissioned healthcare policy report from Deloitte, Premier Tony Wakeham’s office says Minister of Government Services Mike Goosney has been asked to “undertake a review of what guidelines should be put in place to stop this from happening in the future.”
A spokesperson from the premier’s office said the directive was given “based on recent examples coming to light of AI being used by consultants to generate reports for government.”
On Nov. 22 The Independent reported the existence of at least four sources cited by Deloitte in the province’s Health Human Resources Plan which do not exist or appear not to exist. The province’s Department of Health and Community Services said it confirmed with Deloitte that the four sources were “incorrect” and that it has “directed Deloitte to confirm the accuracy of the citations and literature review.
Deloitte has not responded to The Independent’s questions, but the health ministry said the company told the government it “stands by the conclusions and findings in the report.”
On Monday provincial NDP Leader Jim Dinn called on the government to implement “strict regulations” around the use of artificial intelligence in government-commissioned reports, adding the use of AI in such reports is “disgusting” and “undermining the confidence in our government to do the work necessary to address the issues in our healthcare system, and truly throughout the province.”
Last month Deloitte was caught in a similar scandal involving the use of artificial intelligence in a report for the Australian government, resulting in the company issuing a partial refund for its mistakes. The provincial government and Deloitte have not responded to questions from The Independent around a potential full or partial refund for the Health Human Resources Plan, which includes more than 100 occupation-specific recommendations for the government to “strengthen and transform health care delivery in Newfoundland and Labrador,” then Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell said when the report was released in May.
The Independent asked the Department of Government Services for details on the review of artificial intelligence and third-party consultants. We will publish an update once we learn more.
