Independent senator David Pocock says he is “deeply concerned” a report sent to politicians by a University of Sydney-based institute to support a $20m funding request for gambling education “appears to just be slop written by AI”.
Pocock was among at least 10 politicians and officials sent a “Youth Gambling in Australia Evidence Review,” by the OurFutures Institute. The report was used as background to the institute’s budget submission for funding to deliver a gambling prevention education program aimed at 15- to 20-year-olds.
The director of the OurFutures Institute put the errors down to the use of a reference “editing tool”, and said the claims in the paper were evidence-based and sound.
The review, analysed by Guardian Australia, contained at least 21 references where the reference link was broken; where the paper referenced did not appear to exist at all; or where the paper cited appears to be different to the one hyperlinked.
There were also multiple instances where a statement was not supported by the paper referenced.
For example, the review states that a Productivity Commission inquiry into gambling found: “Every $1 invested in school-based prevention returns $8–10 through avoided costs in healthcare, welfare, and justice.”
However, this assertion is nowhere to be found in the Productivity Commission’s report, which states: “The Commission has reservations about the benefits of school-based gambling education, which has been strongly advocated by the gambling industry and has been finding a place in state and territory curriculums.”
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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 an explanation.
“I am deeply concerned about this $20m request for public funding and the evidence review it is based on, which appears to just be slop written by AI,” he said.
“From my preliminary assessment, the review is full of AI hallucinations, including references to studies that don’t exist and statements presented as fact that are completely false or grossly exaggerated.”
He said he was particularly concerned by the claim that school-based gambling harm prevention programs have a return on investment “when in reality the commission found that these programs are typically pushed by the gambling industry and can make things worse”.
Pocock said the government instead should ban gambling ads that impact and influence children.
“It’s been three years since the late Peta Murphy MP handed her multipartisan-backed report to the government on gambling reform, and the government still has not even responded to it, yet alone acted to ban gambling advertising,” Pocock said.
Institute claims ‘genuine error’
According to the OurFutures evidence review, “evidence from multiple domains including alcohol, tobacco, and vaping, shows that school-based prevention programs are among the most effective tools for reducing risky behaviour”.
However, the reference provided for that statement directs to a broken link.
Guardian Australia found the paper that OurFutures appears to be referring to, but it makes no such finding about school-based programs. Instead, the paper found studies in support of school-based gambling education programs often contained “methodological inadequacies”.
The OurFutures budget submission states that any gambling education program it develops will “will be led by leaders in their respective fields with vast experience in implementing education programs” including Prof Sally Gainsbury, a director with the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Institute.
The submission does not disclose that Gainsbury receives direct and indirect funding from the gambling industry including Entain Australia, Sportsbet, Star Entertainment and the European Lotteries 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.
Two papers referenced alongside her name in the review were ones Thomas said she “had not written and [which] do not seem to exist”.
“We owe it to the children of Australia to ensure that we are basing gambling policy decisions on the best available independent evidence,” Thomas said. “That evidence shows we need a complete ban on gambling ads.”
Ken Wallace, the chief executive of the OurFutures Institute, said the claims and policy rationale behind the budget submission “remain evidenced and sound”.
Asked a series of questions about the issues with the paper, Wallace said: “An editing tool was only used to reorder references found by our research team.”
“Yesterday, we were informed this resulted in some mismatched, merged or incorrectly formatted citations. As a team that strongly upholds evidence-based approaches, we deeply apologise for this genuine error.”
He said the institute would share corrected versions with those who originally received the background material, with a “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 reference section.”
Wallace did not explain how it is that direct quotes cited do not seem to exist, or how seemingly nonexistent papers appeared alongside the names of known researchers. He did not explain how the review contained information with references to literature that made opposing findings.
Asked about Gainsbury’s industry funding and whether this should have been disclosed, Wallace said: “Neither the design nor the delivery of the proposed program involves gambling-industry funding, influence, or partnership, and safeguarding independence is a core principle of the initiative.”
Dr Hannah Pitt, a public health researcher who alongside Thomas has spoken with thousands of young Australians and their parents about gambling, said what children and teenagers want is “to see gambling ads banned or highly restricted”.
“The evidence is clear that young people want greater regulations on this issue, and they have called for government action to do that.”
In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM.