AI bots submitted 76% of responses on UK vape ban — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, bots created using artificial intelligence submitted most of the responses to a 2023 government consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill. According to The Guardian, 90,835 of 118,756 responses, or 76% of the total, were automated.

Responses against the ban

The UK Department of Health and Social Care used bot-detection methods and found that almost all automated submissions concerned a single consultation question about a “smoke-free generation.” They opposed the plan of Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes.

The department said that such messages were often repeatedly duplicated and sent at a high frequency from a small number of IP addresses. All 90,835 automated responses were excluded from the decision-making process.

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Researchers warned of interference risk

Information about the attempt to influence the consultation was published in a study in the journal Tobacco Control by Dr Nason Maani of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Anna Gilmore of the University of Bath. The researchers described it as likely the first documented case of large-scale automated interference in a formal public health policy consultation in the United Kingdom.

Maani noted that similar campaigns in the future may be harder to detect, while several influential interests could create the impression of a mass movement. Keir Starmer’s Labour government inherited the bill in 2024, after which it became law, including a ban on businesses selling or supplying disposable vapes.

The UK department said that existing control mechanisms had worked effectively and that the fake responses had been removed. The department also said it would continue to monitor possible attempts at such interference in consultation processes.