Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying
Australian MP Andrew Hastie told a parliamentary inquiry that Microsoft Copilot suggested cheerful responses — including 'congratulations!' — when he received a message from a terminally ill constituent about ending his life through assisted dying. Hastie used the incident to argue that AI software has serious shortcomings.
Why this matters: This is not a hypothetical failure mode. A real person wrote to their representative about dying, and an AI tool responded to that as if it were good news. That is a concrete harm — to the MP's ability to do his job and, potentially, to a vulnerable person expecting a human response. AI writing assistants are already inside government offices, reading constituent mail and suggesting replies. Most people contacting elected officials have no idea that is happening. When the tool gets it this wrong, someone has to decide whether to care.
Who should care: General readers · AI governance · Policy
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