The biggest risk with using AI in your team is not the technology, but how you use it. Deloitte discovered recently how badly things can spiral out of control when they use AI-generated content without doing even basic checks. This should be a lesson for all leaders: Embracing AI is important, but you also need the right education, oversight, and mindset to avoid getting it wrong.

https://swiy.co/go-the-deloitte-ai-scandal

You might have seen the recent story about Deloitte caught cheating in a half-a-millon-dollar consulting report it created for an Australian government department.

Deloitte’s consultants used AI to research and generate some of the report. Nothing wrong with that. But then it didn’t do even the most basic fact-checking about the AI-generated content, and released the report riddled with errors. Specifically, some of the references cited in the report simply didn’t exist, and others did exist but didn’t say what Deloitte claimed they said.

When they were caught out, Deloitte claimed these AI “hallucinations” didn’t change the report’s recommendations.

But that’s no excuse!

The fact that some of the references didn’t even exist shows Deloitte didn’t even bother reading those references. They weren’t using AI as a research tool. It’s hard not conclude they they were just using this AI-generated content to bulk up the report and make it look more authoritative.

Deloitte has apologised, and apparently they are returning some undisclosed portion of their fee. We don’t know how much, even though as taxpayers, we should be told. But the government is refusing to say.

This is not just a Deloitte problem.

It’s a major problem for many leaders and organisations trying to use AI now.

You absolutely SHOULD be using AI as a research assistant. I do that all the time, and it saves me hours of Google searches and other research.

But it’s only a starting point. It’s an assistant. You then need to apply your own human expertise to the artificial intelligence.

That might sound obvious, and yet many people in many workplaces don’t get it.

And it’s not their fault.

Many organisations and leaders are giving their people access to AI without anywhere near enough education and professional development. Sometimes there’s none at all!

I’m stunned at how few organisations are providing the appropriate level of education for one of the most powerful tools available in workplaces now! AI is not just the future – it’s with us right now! So, that education is crucial.

If you’d like to know more about this, join my free public online presentation next week about AI for leaders – for 2026 and beyond. And please invite other leaders in your team and network as well.

Register for the virtual masterclass:

https://swiy.co/go-the-deloitte-ai-scandal

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