UK police under fire for AI-written report that led to ban of Israeli football fans
The UK police chief has admitted that artificial intelligence (AI) was used to write an intelligence report that led to the ban of Israeli fans from attending a football match.
Image by Hirurg via Getty Images
The UK police chief has admitted that artificial intelligence (AI) was used to write an intelligence report that led to the ban of Israeli fans from attending a football match.
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford admitted that the mistake arose as a result of using Microsoft Copilot, according to his letter to Karen Bradley, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
The intelligence report referred to a non-existent match between Tel Aviv Maccabi and London’s West Ham, which was supposed to have taken place on November 9th, 2023.
The report served as the basis for banning Maccabi fans from attending the Europa League match against Aston Villa on November 6th.
The Birmingham Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which made the decision, classified the match as “high risk,” citing unrest during previous Maccabi matches.
Speaking before the Committee on December 1st and January 6th, Guildford denied using AI in writing the report and argued that the fictitious match was identified through a Google search.
With the increasing use of AI, potentially damaging hallucinations are also becoming more common. Just last week, AI-generated faulty sources were found in two reports from the European Union cybersecurity agency, ENISA.
Unlock exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.