Matt Thistlethwaite in frame after AI transcript blunder

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has criticised the Department of Defence after an interview transcript which erroneously states that she was a PhD-qualified constitutional lawyer was put on its website.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has criticised the Department of Defence for leaving a transcript that erroneously said she was a constitutional lawyer online.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has criticised the Department of Defence after an interview transcript ­erroneously stating that she was a PhD-qualified constitutional lawyer was uploaded to its website.

The Sky News interview transcript of a panel discussion featuring Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite and Senator McKenzie hosted by Sharri Markson was published in Nine’s Australian ­Financial Review, issued to other media outlets and published on Defence’s website.

The transcript falsely reports that Markson asked Senator McKenzie for her expert opinion as a “constitutional lawyer” with a “PhD on the subject” why the majority of Australians did not support an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Senator McKenzie, who holds degrees in applied science and teaching, was portrayed as having accepted the premise of the question and responded that the voice had been rushed.

However, recordings of the episode reveal the exchange was entirely false or wrongly attributed to Senator McKenzie.

“For me, this goes to the competency of the Defence Minister’s operations, and both attacks the credibility of Sharri Markson that she would be making up ­occupations and qualifications for her guests, and also basic competence,” she told The Australian. “This isn’t the Labor Party’s website, we’re not in the middle of an election campaign. This is the official Defence ­Department’s website.”

A transcript of the interview, which took place on Wednesday, could still be found on Defence’s website late on Friday.

Mr Thistlethwaite said the false record was the result of transcription software that had “mangled” the second half of the interview, adding that the fiasco acts as a reminder of the importance of human oversight when using AI.

“A mistake was made in the transcription of the interview,” he said.

“The office used transcription software and it mangled the wording of the second half of the interview. I’ve rung Bridget McKenzie and I’ve apologised to her for the ­mistake.”

AFR legal editor Michael Pelly wrote in an article published on Thursday that Senator McKenzie “didn’t miss a beat” in responding to the question, “just as an academic doctor will never correct you when you call them a professor, or a barrister if you call them a silk”. The story was taken down later that day and a correction issued.

“The article, Does Bridget McKenzie really have a PhD in constitutional law?, published online on August 17, referred to an appearance by senator Bridget McKenzie on Sky News with Sharri Markson on Wednesday night,” an AFR spokesman said.

“The story relied on a transcript provided to the media by the Labor MP and Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite. The transcript was incorrect, and the story has been retracted.”