- A 526-page health report commissioned by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to Deloitte, valued at nearly $1.6 million USD, was found to contain errors suspected to be caused by generative AI, including incorrect citations and non-existent academic materials.
- An investigation by the Independent newspaper showed the report used fake research papers, cited scientists on works they had never participated in, and even named “fictitious” author groups that had never worked together.
- Deloitte Canada affirmed its stance behind the recommendations in the report, saying that AI was only used “selectively” to assist with some citations and that the current corrections only involve “a handful” of errors, not affecting the conclusions.
- A research paper cited from the Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy also could not be found in the database.
- Professor Gail Tomblin Murphy, who was incorrectly cited in a non-existent article, commented that the degree of inaccuracy suggests significant use of AI; she warned of serious risks when evidence supporting policy is not authenticated.
- The report focused on virtual care, retention of healthcare personnel, and the impact of COVID-19, against the backdrop of a provincial shortage of doctors and nurses. As of Monday, the document was still on the government website.
- The province paid the fee over 8 installments, according to an information disclosure request. The new administration of Premier Tony Wakeham has not commented.
- The incident follows a similar scandal in Australia: a $290,000 USD report by Deloitte to support welfare policy was found to have “AI hallucinations,” accompanied by fake academic material and incorrect citations. Deloitte later admitted using Azure OpenAI, updated the report, and partially refunded the fee.
- There is currently no information on whether Canada has requested a refund from Deloitte.
📌 A 526-page health report commissioned by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to Deloitte, valued at nearly $1.6 million USD, was found to contain errors suspected to be caused by generative AI, including incorrect citations and non-existent academic materials. Deloitte denied that AI wrote the report but admitted using AI to assist with citations. This is the second scandal after the Australian case, raising concerns about the accuracy and accountability when AI is used in government consultancy documents.
