A senior UK judge has accused the Home Office of relying on information that was 'hallucinated' by artificial intelligence to refuse an asylum claim from a Moroccan woman. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The case involves a Moroccan woman and her child who fled the country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum fearing she would be killed by her husband, a powerful previously convicted criminal.
The Home Office refused her case, citing evidence from a supposed country policy information note (CPIN) which they said confirmed Morocco would be safe for her. However, the document could not be found, although its existence was relied upon by a judge who rejected her appeal in the first-tier tribunal.
The woman lodged a further appeal to the upper tribunal, where another judge raised concerns. In a decision on 14 July, the judge said: 'It appears that no such CPIN has ever existed.' He added: 'No such document has been located in the public domain and moreover the Home Office's country policy and information team has been unable to confirm its existence.'
The judge said the Home Office's refusal letter 'bears hallmarks consistent with the use of artificial intelligence'. He stated: 'It may therefore transpire that references to country information note Morocco July 2021 in that letter are a result of an AI "hallucination". If so that would represent an extremely serious failing on the part of the respondent [the Home Office].'
The judge also said relying on a non-existent document was 'analogous to relying on bogus evidence' and determined it was a 'procedural irregularity'.
The Guardian asked the Home Office if the document existed. After initially sending a link to an archive where it could not be found, the Home Office produced a different document: an unpublished internal guidance known as a country information note (CIN). No CPIN on Morocco has been published since 2017. During the case, the Home Office's references changed from the internal CIN to the CPIN, which are generally treated as authoritative by judges.
The internal document does not conclude that Morocco is safe for the forcible return of women like the claimant. It states that in 2018 exemptions were made granting 40,000 child marriages, one-fifth of total marriages that year. It adds that Morocco's laws do not explicitly criminalise marital rape and that women who report it may be criminalised for sex outside marriage if disbelieved by authorities.
Home Office sources said they could provide additional information requested by the judge. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The home secretary is restoring order and control to our asylum system by removing incentives drawing illegal migrants to the UK and ramping up removals of those with no right to be on British soil. We keep our asylum system under constant review. Claims are always considered on their individual merits and based on the latest evidence to ensure only those in genuine need are granted UK protection.'