Services Australia officials on Friday testified they did not know which government agency is struggling under the weight of AI generated Freedom of Information requests, despite it being their own agency.
In the latest setback to the Albanese government’s more restrictive FoI system, senior officials appeared unaware that Services Australia had helped the Attorney General’s Department (AGD) try to build a case for the unpopular reforms.
Emails released under FoI itself show an unidentified agency had estimated half of the hundreds of FoI requests it had on hand for non-personal matters include AI generated content.
Around 18 per cent of requests for personal matters were believed to be AI assisted, according to the emails.
The estimates helped form government talking points intended to head off likely criticism about the reforms, which will prevent anonymous requests, impose new charges on applicants and restrict how much time public servants spend on individual requests.
In the emails claiming evidence of AI use, the specific examples provided show an applicant seeking information about debts, payments and Centrelink correspondence. The AGD has also already told Senate Estimates the agency in question was Services Australia and InnovationAus.com has confirmed it with the agency.
But in an inquiry into the government’s new FoI legislation earlier on Friday, Services Australia officials said they did not know which agency it was.
Services Australia’s written submission says the agency “has seen an upward trend over the past few years of requests that appear to be from bots” but it also struggles to definitively attribute the anonymous requests.
Home Affairs officials fronting the inquiry’s public hearing on Friday also did not know which agency was under pressure, nor could they provide any evidence of AI or bot use in any of the 7,500 FoI requests the department had on hand.
“We don’t necessarily have evidence of it actually occurring to the Department,” Home Affairs deputy secretary Brooke Hartigan said.
“What we’re aware of is that the FoI system itself could be vulnerable to requests made by bots or generated by AI.”
The reforms may be dead in the water regardless of the proof of bots or AI-generated requests after the opposition said it will not support the legislation. The Greens have also ruled out support, while outside integrity and transparency experts have widely criticised the plan.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.