UK police chief says Copilot hallucination influenced ban on visiting fans

Businessinsider reports West Midlands Police chief constable Craig Guildford told a Parliamentary committee that officers failed to spot a hallucination from Microsoft's Copilot while preparing security advice for the November 6 Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa, and he apologised after initially saying AI had not been used.

Guildford said Copilot produced false information about a game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham United that never occurred, and those details helped inform the force's recommendation that led to banning Maccabi fans from the Aston Villa fixture. More than 700 officers were deployed, multiple protests took place outside the stadium, and the force had classified the match as "high risk." A police statement in October said the decision was based on "current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences" at a separate game in Amsterdam the prior year.

A spokesperson for Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Parliament she had lost confidence in Guildford. In a letter to the committee Guildford apologised and said he had believed the incorrect information came from a Google search: "I had understood and been advised that the match had been identified by way of a Google search in preparation for attending HAC.

Key Topics

Tech, Microsoft Copilot, Craig Guildford, West Midlands Police, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Aston Villa