Independent senator David Pocock says he is “deeply concerned” by a report sent to politicians by a Sydney University-based institute to support a $20 million funding request for gambling education that “appears to have been carelessly written by AI”.
Pocock was one of at least 10 politicians and officials sent a “Youth Gambling Evidence Review in Australia” by the OurFutures Institute. The report was used as background for the institute budget presentation For funding to provide gambling prevention education programs for 15 to 20 year olds.
The director of the OurFutures Institute attributed the errors to the use of a reference “editing tool”, and said that the claims in the paper were evidence-based and solid.
The review analyzed by Guardian Australia included at least 21 references where the reference link was broken; where the paper referred to did not exist at all; or where the cited paper appears to be different from the hyperlinked paper.
There were also several instances where a statement was not supported by the referenced paper.
For example, the Review states that the Gambling Productivity Commission’s investigation found: “Every $1 invested in school-based prevention returns $8-10 through avoided costs in health care, welfare, and justice.”
However, this claim is nowhere to be found Productivity Commission ReportWhich states: “The Commission has reservations about the benefits of school-based gambling education, which has been strongly advocated by the gambling industry and is finding a place in state and territory curricula.”
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Pocock confirmed he had received the review and that his office had written to the OurFutures Institute with concerns, asking for clarification.
He said, “I am deeply concerned about this request for $20 million for public funding and the evidence review based on it, which appears to have been carelessly written by an AI.”
“From my initial assessment, the review is full of AI hallucinations, including references to studies that do not exist and statements presented as fact that are completely false or grossly exaggerated.”
He said he was particularly concerned by claims that school-based gambling harm prevention programs provide a return on investment “when in fact the Commission found that these programs are generally driven by the gambling industry and may make things worse”.
Pocock said the government should instead ban gambling advertisements that influence children.
“It’s been three years since the late Peta Murphy MP passed away its multi-party supported report We have written to the Government on gambling reform and the Government have yet to respond, yet have taken action to ban gambling advertising alone,” Pocock said.
Institute claims ‘genuine error’
According to the OurFutures evidence review, “evidence from multiple domains, including alcohol, tobacco and vaping, suggests that school-based prevention programs are among the most effective tools for reducing risky behaviour”.
However, the context provided for that statement points to a broken link.
Guardian Australia found It appears that the paper OurFutures is referring toBut it makes no such findings about school-based programs. Instead, the paper found that studies conducted in support of school-based gambling education programs often contained “methodological inadequacies”.
OurFutures budget submission states that any gambling education programs it develops will be led by “leaders in their respective fields with extensive experience in implementing education programs” including Professor Sally Gainsbury, director of the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Sydney.
Presentation does not reveal Gainsbury receives direct and indirect money including gambling industry Enten Australia, Sportsbet, Star Entertainment and the European Lottery Association.
Guardian Australia contacted one of the researchers referenced in the evidence review, Samantha Thomas, a professor of public health at Deakin University, known for her work on gambling advertising and children.
Referenced by name in the review were two papers which Thomas said he “did not write and (which) do not exist”.
“We owe it to Australia’s children to ensure we are making gambling policy decisions based on the best available independent evidence,” Thomas said. “That evidence shows we need a complete ban on gambling advertising.”
Ken Wallace, chief executive of the OurFutures Institute, said the claims and policy arguments behind the budget presentation “remain clear and solid”.
When asked a series of questions about the paper’s issues, Wallace said: “An editing tool was used only to rearrange the references found by our research team.”
“Yesterday, we were informed that this has resulted in some mismatches, merging or incorrectly formatted citations. As a team that strongly supports evidence-based approaches, we deeply apologize for this factual error.”
He said the institute would share the revised version with those who originally received the background material, with “full, line-by-line verification of all remaining references for peace of mind as soon as possible”.
“We are also updating the budget submission to correct the references section.”
Wallace does not explain how it is that the direct citations cited do not exist, or how seemingly nonexistent papers appeared with the names of known researchers. They did not explain how the review included information in the context of literature that drew contrary conclusions.
Asked about Gainsbury’s industry funding and whether it should have been disclosed, Wallace said: “Neither the design nor the delivery of the proposed program involves gambling-industry funding, influence or partnership, and protecting independence is a core principle of the initiative.”
Dr Hannah Pitt, a public health researcher who has spoken with Thomas to thousands of young Australians and their parents about gambling, said what children and teenagers want is “to see gambling advertising restricted or highly restricted”.
“The evidence is clear that young people want better regulations on this issue, and they have called for government action to make this happen.”
in Australia, gambling help online Available on 1800 858 858 National Credit Helpline It is on 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found through the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or game care on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call National Council on Problem Gambling Text 800-GAMMER or 800GAM.
