Australian Senate Hears Age-Assurance Report Contains Untraceable Citations
Australian senators heard that a report testing age-assurance technology linked to the under-16 social media restrictions contained untraceable academic citations; its authors acknowledged using ChatGPT in editing but denied AI created the errors.
In short
- Australian senators heard that a report testing age-assurance technology linked to the under-16 social media restrictions contained untraceable academic citations; its authors acknowledged using ChatGPT in editing but denied AI created the errors.
Australian senators have heard that a report testing technology connected to the country’s under-16 social media restrictions contains citation problems, including links to academic articles that could not be found.
The report’s authors acknowledged that ChatGPT was used during editing but denied that artificial intelligence generated the disputed references, according to Guardian Australia. The outlet’s analysis focused on one section of the report and described the questionable citations as apparent AI hallucinations.
The A$3.48 million age-assurance technology trial was conducted in 2025 by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme. It evaluated methods that social-media platforms could use to assess users’ ages under Australia’s planned restrictions.
The dispute puts renewed attention on the evidence used to assess age-verification systems and on disclosure when generative AI tools contribute to reports informing public policy. The available source does not establish how the citation errors arose, and the authors contest that AI was responsible.
