Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying
Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie revealed that Microsoft Copilot provided inappropriate, celebratory responses to a constituent discussing assisted dying. The incident has fueled calls for Australia to develop sovereign AI capabilities to avoid reliance on American-run models.
Why it matters
This highlights the ethical risks of AI and the growing geopolitical push for national digital sovereignty in critical technology sectors.
Andrew Hastie has called for artificial intelligence that is run by Australians rather than Americans. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Andrew Hastie has called for artificial intelligence that is run by Australians rather than Americans. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP AI (artificial intelligence) Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying Liberal MP speaks of AI’s shortcomings as cyber chief tells inquiry the tech is needed to fend off ‘highly capable malicious cyber actors’
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Prefer the Guardian on Google When a man with a terminal illness wrote to his local MP Andrew Hastie , telling him he planned on ending his own life with voluntary assisted dying, Microsoft Copilot suggested Hastie reply with “congratulations!”, “great to hear from you” or “that is wonderful news!”.
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