Incident 1009: Purportedly AI-Assisted Report by Tromsø Officials Allegedly Cited Non-Existent Sources in School Closure Proposal

Description: In February 2025, Tromsø Municipality reportedly presented a report proposing the closure of schools and kindergartens. Residents reportedly later discovered the report cited numerous non-existent sources. Officials reportedly admitted using generative AI to help draft the report, leading to fabricated references. The incident reportedly led to public outcry and suspension of the closure plan. It is purportedly Norway’s first major public-sector AI scandal.
Editor Notes: A couple of notes on two figures who appear in the reporting: Stig Tore Johnsen is the kommunedirektør (municipal chief executive) of Tromsø Municipality. While he publicly accepted responsibility for the inclusion of AI-generated content in the school closure report, there is no indication that he personally deployed the AI system. Thomas Nordahl, a professor whose name was falsely cited in the report as the author of a non-existent book, appears more amused than aggrieved. His public comment suggests concern over the misuse of his name, but not a claim of reputational harm.

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Incident Stats

Incident ID
1009
Report Count
4
Incident Date
2025-02-13
Editors
Daniel Atherton
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Proposes closing down several kindergartens and schools in Tromsø: – Should have happened a long time ago
nrk.no · 2025
AI Translated

– This proposal will have some consequences, and one of them is a longer travel distance.

This is according to Arne Christian Vangdal, who is leading the project for a new kindergarten and school structure in Tromsø.

– Our main challenge is…

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Norwegian city used AI to generate report that recommended closing schools
pivot-to-ai.com · 2025

In Tromsø, in northern Norway, the local administration decided it had too many schools and kindergartens for too few children, and they should shut some of them down. So they prepared a very nice 120-page report to support this move. [NRK,…

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The scandal in Tromsø: The municipality used sources that KI had fabricated
digi.no · 2025
AI Translated

-- I have been quoted and misinterpreted before, but I have never experienced being quoted on something I have never written, says Professor Thomas Nordahl at the University of the Inland to [the Tromsø newspaper.]

The newspaper has reviewe…

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The school scandal in Tromsø: The municipality used sources that KI had fabricated
utdanningsnytt.no · 2025
AI Translated

-- I have been quoted and misinterpreted before, but I have never experienced being quoted on something I have never written, says Professor Thomas Nordahl at the University of the Inland to [the Tromsø newspaper.]

The newspaper has reviewe…

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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