By Thapelo Molefe
Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi has acknowledged that generative artificial intelligence (AI) was used irresponsibly during the drafting of South Africa’s national AI policy, forcing government to withdraw the document and tighten oversight measures on the use of AI in policymaking.
Speaking during the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ 2026 Budget Vote debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Malatsi said the department had no choice but to withdraw the draft National AI Policy Framework after fabricated references and inaccurate citations were discovered in the document.
“The series of events obviously impacted the policy document and withdrawing it was the only way to ensure that we can reintroduce a credible policy for this critical area,” Malatsi told MPs.
The minister said the department would now implement an internal responsible AI use policy and review its policy development processes to prevent similar incidents in future.
“We
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