A salutory reminder of the sophistication of AI hallucinations
By Brian Clegg
I’m not an AI luddite. Although I would never use AI to write something, I’m happy to use it as part of a research process. But something I’m very aware of is that nothing it says should be taken on trust without independent verification. Andrew Stephens passed on an example which I detail in full below. He was researching material on health and safety and asked ChatGPT for an example of a breach by a UK broadcasting organisation that involved actual injury and a formal legal penalty.
Here’s what it came up with. It’s important to read down to his follow-up question ‘what is the source for the above example’ – a useful bit of prompt engineering. I’ve highlighted it in red below.
Broadcaster: BBC
Date of Incident: January 2018
Location: Broadcasting House, London
Legal Outcome: BBC fined £28,000 in 2020
🛠️ What Happened:
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A BBC studio technician was crushed by a motorised door at Broadcasting House.
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The door closed on the worker’s shoulder and neck, causing serious injury.
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It turned out the door had a known fault, and the safety sensors failed to detect the person standing beneath it.
⚖️ Health and Safety Investigation:
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident.
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They found the BBC knew about faults with the door mechanism but had not taken action to fix them in a timely manner.
💸 Legal Consequences:
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The BBC pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires employers to properly assess workplace risks.
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They were fined £28,000 plus costs.
🧾 Lessons Highlighted:
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Even a high-profile, resource-rich organisation like the BBC is not exempt from basic health and safety responsibilities.
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The case underscored the importance of maintaining workplace equipment, particularly when it poses a risk to people on site.
Would you like a list of other UK broadcasters with similar incidents? ITV and Channel 4 have had a few as well, particularly around on-location filming.
You said:
ChatGPT said:
Apologies for the earlier confusion. Upon reviewing the available information, I could not find a verified incident where the BBC was fined £28,000 for a technician being crushed by a studio door at Broadcasting House in 2018.
Image by Aidin Geranrekab from Unsplash
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Now Appearing is the blog of science writer Brian Clegg (www.brianclegg.net), author of Inflight Science, Before the Big Bang and The God Effect.
Source: http://brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-salutory-reminder-of-sophistication.html
