South Africa has withdrawn the first draft of its national artificial intelligence policy after officials found fictitious references in the document, a lapse that has raised awkward questions about how a strategy meant to govern AI could itself have been tainted by apparently machine-made material. Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi said the integrity of the draft had been compromised, according to statements cited by local and regional media.

The controversy has prompted an internal reckoning inside the department. Polity.org.za reported that Malatsi said those responsible for drafting and quality assurance would face consequences, while Business Day framed the episode as a blunt reminder that AI-assisted work still needs firm human oversight. The minister has argued that the problem was not the technology itself, but the failure to verify what had been inserted into a policy document carrying real regulatory weight.

The draft had been approved by cabinet in March and then published in the Government Gazette on 10 April 2026 for public comment, with submissions due by 10 June, according to Mail & Guardian, IOL and Xinhua. The proposal was designed to push South Africa into a stronger position in the continent’s AI landscape, including plans for a National AI Commission, an AI Ethics Board and an AI Regulatory Authority, alongside possible incentives such as grants, subsidies and tax breaks to encourage local innovation.

According to the related reports, the policy also aimed to set national priorities for AI across sectors and to embed principles such as intergenerational equity. Its withdrawal now leaves Pretoria with the more immediate task of repairing confidence in the policy process before it can return to the substance of AI governance itself.

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Source: Noah Wire Services