AI Language Model Sparks Controversy in Newfoundland Education Reform
On Friday, CBC News revealed a shocking twist in education reform for Newfoundland and Labrador. A major document is said to contain at least 15 fake citations that academics believe were generated by an AI language model. This comes despite the same report pushing for “ethical” AI use in schools.
“Tackling the Future: Transforming and Modernizing Education,” released on August 28, lays out a 10-year plan to revamp the province’s public schools and post-secondary institutions. This hefty 418-page document took 18 months to put together and was introduced by co-chairs Anne Burke and Karen Goodnough, both professors at Memorial University’s Faculty of Education, along with Education Minister Bernard Davis.
One of the questionable citations points to a 2008 National Film Board movie titled “Schoolyard Games,” which, according to a board spokesperson, doesn’t even exist. This citation appeared in a University of Victoria style guide, which is intended to help students with formatting references using fictional examples. The style guide even warns on its first page that “Many citations in this guide are fictitious,” meaning they’re purely for demonstration purposes. Yet somehow, this fake reference made its way into the Education Accord report as if it were a legitimate source.
Aaron Tucker, an assistant professor at Memorial whose research zeroes in on AI history in Canada, shared his frustrations with CBC. He couldn’t track down many of the sources cited in the report, despite extensive searches in the MUN Library, other academic databases, and even Google. “The fabrication of sources at least begs the question: did this come from generative AI?” Tucker said. “Whether that’s AI, I don’t know, but fabricating sources is a telltale sign of artificial intelligence.”
Since the rise of AI language models, the issue of generating fake citations has persisted. This problem often wreaks havoc in academic and legal settings, where fabricated sources can easily slip through the cracks during lazy reviews since they look properly formatted and contextually sound.
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