A senior judge has raised serious concerns that the UK Home Office may have relied on artificial intelligence-generated 'hallucinations' when refusing an asylum claim for a Moroccan woman and her child.
The case involves a woman who fled Morocco fearing for her life due to forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape by her husband, a convicted criminal. The Home Office denied her asylum application, citing a country policy information note (CPIN) that purportedly confirmed Morocco's safety for her.
However, during an appeal to the upper tribunal, the existence of this specific CPIN could not be verified. The judge noted that the document could not be found in the public domain and that the Home Office's own country policy team could not confirm its existence. The judge suggested that the reference to the CPIN in the refusal letter might be an AI 'hallucination', describing the reliance on a non-existent document as 'analogous to relying on bogus evidence' and a 'procedural irregularity'.
Following inquiries, the Home Office provided a different document, an unpublished internal country information note (CIN). This CIN, which was not disclosed to the court, does not conclude that Morocco is safe for women facing marital rape, noting that Moroccan law does not explicitly criminalize it and that women reporting it may face criminalization themselves if disbelieved.
A Home Office spokesperson stated that the department is reviewing its asylum system and that claims are considered on individual merits with the latest evidence. The woman's case is ongoing.