AI Darwin Awards

Ignoring actual, relevant research in favor of AI-hallucinated papers that support a desired outcome is a legendary level of incompetence and confirmation bias.

Using AI to generate academic sources for a major policy report, without verification, is an act of legendary arrogance in public administration.

This became the first major AI scandal in the Norwegian public sector, forcing a six-month suspension of the democratic process and making international news.

Basing school closure decisions on fabricated evidence has the potential for significant, long-term indirect harm to thousands of children and families.

The municipality of Tromsø has pioneered the use of AI for evidence-based policy-making, where the 'evidence' is entirely fabricated by the AI. To justify closing eight schools, the administration produced a report citing academic works that existed only in a chatbot's imagination, while pointedly ignoring real research on the topic. This spectacular misuse of technology turned a critical public policy document into a work of fantasy. It's a landmark case of confirmation bias as a service, where AI was used not to find the truth, but to invent a more convenient one.