- AI bots flooded a 2023 UK government consultation on tobacco and vapes with more than 90,000 automated responses opposing disposable vape restrictions.
- The Department of Health and Social Care identified and excluded the fraudulent entries, which accounted for more than three-quarters of all submissions.
- Removing the bot-generated entries revealed that 79.6 per cent of legitimate respondents supported restrictions on disposable vape sales.
- Experts believe this is the first documented instance of large-scale automated AI interference in a major UK public health policy consultation.
- Researchers and health campaigners warned that stronger safeguards are urgently required to protect democratic policymaking from technological manipulation.
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