KPMG and AI: Fabricated Case Studies to Attract Clients

A KPMG report on artificial intelligence, titled "Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI," has been at the center of controversy following the discovery of fabricated case studies. This document, intended to promote the adoption of AI by businesses, included inaccurate claims regarding the use of AI by UBS, the UK's NHS, Swiss Federal Railways, and Transport for London.

The company GPTZero highlighted these errors, which were subsequently confirmed by the Financial Times. All the organizations mentioned in the report have disputed the claims made about them.

Edward Tian, CEO of GPTZero, expressed his concerns regarding the spread of "secondary hallucinations" from flawed reports issued by major consulting firms. These documents are often perceived as credible and are used by AI systems and individuals, thereby amplifying misinformation.

The KPMG report has also been criticized for its careless sourcing, a practice that may have led to these errors. The citations were often rough paraphrases of real sources, frequently lacking correct URLs or authors, and sometimes, no original source was identifiable. GPTZero referred to this practice as "vibe citing," a problem that has also affected Google’s AI Insights, for which a German court recently held Google accountable.

In light of these revelations, KPMG has removed the report from several websites. This incident is particularly embarrassing for the firm, which finds itself disseminating misinformation while failing to manage the technologies it promotes to its clients.