British Police Used Microsoft Copilot for Faulty Report That Led to Ban on Soccer Team Fans

A police force in the United Kingdom has admitted to relying on Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot in the fabrication of a faulty intelligence report.

Late last year, the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv played against the British Aston Villa in a game in Birmingham, U.K. Prior to the game, a Birmingham safety committee decided to not allow Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend the game, basing the decision on an intelligence report from West Midlands police deeming the match high-risk for hooliganism.

The details of that report were later heavily contested by government officials. Now, West Midlands police chief constable Craig Guildford has admitted that his subordinates relied on Microsoft Copilot to fabricate the report and failed to fact-check its findings.

Specifically, the report referred to a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the British soccer team West Ham that was completely hallucinated by Copilot. The two teams have never played against each other,…