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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Luca Ittimani

Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying

Andrew Hastie
Andrew Hastie has called for artificial intelligence that is run by Australians rather than Americans. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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!”.

Hastie shared the episode at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday to underline the shortcomings of the American-run software as he called for AI run by Australians.

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