AI bots made up 76% of UK disposable-vapes consultation replies
Briefing by News4U · First published
Tobacco Control research finds 90,835 of 118,756 responses (76%) to the UK 2023 smoke-free generation consultation were AI bot-generated and opposed a disposable-vapes ban; the health department excluded them, and the ban later became law.
Research disclosed Tuesday in Tobacco Control finds that 90,835 of 118,756 responses—76%—to the UK 2023 consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated, The Guardian reported. [1]
The Department of Health and Social Care used bot-detection methods to flag the fake submissions. All but two of those automated answers opposed the Conservative government’s plan to ban disposable vapes and were often duplicated at high frequency from a small number of IP addresses. [1]
Researchers said the episode appears to be the first documented large-scale automated interference in a formal UK public-health policy consultation. Officials excluded the 90,835 bot replies from decision-making, and the Tobacco and Vapes Act later banned selling or supplying disposable vapes. [1]
Sources
- AI bots flooded 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban
The Guardian · · Full text