Photo of 6-fingered woman shows N.L. government needs to ‘tighten up’ AI policy, Wakeham says

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Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham says he will make sure policies around the use of artificial intelligence are enforced. This comes after an altered image was posted on government’s Facebook’s page on Friday, but was promptly removed.

The photo was part of a public service announcement about vaccinations. It showed a woman with six fingers, and with her shirt sleeve rolled up — yet also covering her forearm.

A statement from the provincial government on Monday confirmed the image was altered.

“The latest version of software used by Provincial Government design staff, Photoshop, contains an AI component, which is used for editing and re-sizing photos, often for social media … In this instance, the editing process distorted the image that was not captured in the reviewing process,” the statement said.

WATCH | ‘They shouldn’t be using it,’ says Wakeham:

Mistakes made using AI show government needs to better enforce policy, premier says

Premier Tony Wakeham spoke to reporters following a second AI-altered image being posted on a government Facebook page. He says the mistakes take away from intended messaging, and that the province needs to tighten up its policies around its use.

Speaking with reporters on Monday afternoon, Wakeham said making a mistake like that isn’t good enough.

“The point is they shouldn’t be using it. The point is that we’ve got to focus in on getting our messages out, and unfortunately, when you make mistakes like that, or things like that happen, then that becomes the story,” Wakeham said.

“We have to tighten up how government deals with AI and the use of AI, most definitely. It should not happen.”

A picture of a Facebook post shows a smiling older woman with a bandage on her right arm. The woman has six fingers on her left hand, and her denim jacket sleeve is simultaneously around her shoulder and covering her lower arm. — This picture was posted on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Facebook page. The picture shows a woman with six fingers, and the sleeve on her shirt is simultaneously rolled up and covering her forearm. (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador/Facebook)

Wakeham said the province does have policy around the use of AI, but the government is now working to make sure it’s enforced.

Monday isn’t the first time Wakeham has had to answer questions about AI-related images. In April, Tourism Minister Andrea Barbour came under fire for posting an altered image of The Rooms in a graphic for national tourism week.

“We cannot continue to have these kind of mistakes being made,” Wakeham said on Monday.

Liberal Leader John Hogan said his party doesn’t use AI for photo generation or editing, but that it does use the tool for things like “copy or background checking.”

Hogan was premier when the Education Accord was released. The 10-year roadmap for the province’s education system was criticized for including fake citations which some educators believe may have been AI-generated.

Hogan called on government to take action quickly in updating policy.

“Where’s the legislation? Where’s the plan? Where’s the policy to fix it?” he said.

NDP Leader Jim Dinn also said government needs to watch how they use AI, warning of an emerging pattern.

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