Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Resolution on cellphone restrictions in Alaska schools
Corrected · 25 October 2024
What was fabricated
Four of six academic citations supporting the resolution were fabricated — real journals paired with non-existent article titles, and URLs resolving to unrelated studies. AI causation is established by admission: Commissioner Deena Bishop acknowledged using generative AI to produce the citations, describing the document as "a first draft that had been posted in error". A departmental spokesperson had initially described the false sources as "placeholders" used during drafting.
What happened as a result
DEED updated the document on its website after enquiries from Alaska Beacon. The correction was incomplete: the updated version the Commissioner said had been reviewed and voted on by the State Board still contained false references.
Sources
- https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/10/28/alaska-education-department-published-false-ai-generated-academic-citations-in-cell-policy-document/
- https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/education/2024/10/28/false-citations-show-alaska-education-official-relied-on-generative-ai-raising-broader-questions/
Every incident is confirmed against at least one reputable source (mainstream news, legal/official, or the organisation itself). Nothing unverifiable is listed. Accuracy is non-negotiable — Ukweli is a truth product.