Lazy public servants have been warned not to “copy and paste” content from online tools such as ChatGPT as the State Government cracks down on the use of artificial intelligence in agencies. As part of a public sector-wide edict issued by Premier Roger Cook’s Office of Digital Government, workers have also been told not to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to solve a question they do not know or cannot validate the answer to. Other warnings include ensuring AI tools have been assessed for security and not to enter personal or health information about any person. “(Don’t) “copy and paste” sections of AI-generated content into your work,” the policy reads. “If you do copy and paste any AI-generated content, consider what your obligations are in relation to attribution and intellectual property.” Another concern for the government was that information put into the technology would effectively be “learned” by it, and as such, information regarding tenders would need to be omitted. A State Government spokeswoman said the policy was designed to maintain human oversight in artificial intelligence functions and outputs. “To ensure the risks associated with AI are managed appropriately, the WA Government has developed an Artificial Intelligence Policy, an AI Assurance Framework and additional guidance material, which was issued to agencies and published in March 2024,” the spokeswoman said. “The Office of Digital Government will continue to update the WA AI Policy and guidance to ensure they remain up to date as the AI landscape evolves. WA public sector agencies are most likely to use AI through commercially available products, as AI is becoming increasingly embedded in existing commonly used software.” Currently, the proactive use of artificial intelligence within the public sector is limited to health, with more than $900,000 in grants awarded to fund development projects. Artificial intelligence has become a major issue for the public sector, with the Albanese Government facing questions over an inconsistent approach to policing the use of large language models. While the Reserve Bank, the Attorney General’s Department and Home Affairs allowed the use of ChatGPT, staff at the Fair Work Commission are banned from accessing the website. “On entering a URL for all known and listed generative artificial intelligence tools, users are provided with a warning. The Commission actively monitors our network on an ongoing basis for the use of generative AI tools,” the Commission stated in response to questions.