What Happens When AI Writes the Wrong References?

It’s no surprise that artificial intelligence, while remarkably capable, can also go astray—spinning convincing but entirely fabricated narratives. From politics to academia, AI’s “hallucinations” have repeatedly shown how powerful technology can go off-script when left unchecked.

Take Grok-2, for instance. In July 2024, the chatbot misled users about ballot deadlines in several U.S. states, just days after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump. A year earlier, a U.S. lawyer found himself in court for relying on ChatGPT to draft a legal brief—only to discover that the AI tool had invented entire cases, citations and judicial opinions. And now, the academic world has its own cautionary tale.

Recently, a journal paper from the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong was found to contain fabricated citations—sources apparently created by AI. The paper, titled “Forty Years of Fertility Transition in Hong Kong,” analyzed the decline in Hong Kong’s fertility rate over the past four decades. Authored by doctoral student Yiming Bai, along with Yip Siu-fai, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and other university officials, the study identified falling marriage rates as a key driver behind the city’s shrinking birth rate. The authors recommended structural reforms to make Hong Kong’s social and work environment more family-friendly.

But the credibility of the paper came into question when inconsistencies surfaced among its references. Out of 61 cited works, some included DOI (Digital Object Identifier) links that led to dead ends, displaying “DOI Not Found.” Others claimed to originate from academic journals, yet searches yielded no such publications.

Speaking to HK01, Yip acknowledged that his student had used AI tools to organize the citations but failed to verify the accuracy of the generated references. “As the corresponding author, I bear responsibility”, Yip said, apologizing for the damage caused to the University of Hong Kong and the journal’s reputation. He clarified that the paper itself had undergone two rounds of verification and that its content was not fabricated—only the citations had been mishandled.

Yip has since contacted the journal’s editor, who accepted his explanation and agreed to re-upload a corrected version in the coming days. A formal notice addressing the issue will also be released. Yip said he would personally review each citation “piece by piece” to ensure no errors remain.

As for the student involved, Yip described her as a diligent and high-performing researcher who made an honest mistake in her first attempt at using AI for academic assistance. Rather than penalize her, Yip chose a more constructive approach, urging her to take a course on how to use AI tools responsibly in academic research.

Ultimately, in an age where generative AI can produce everything from essays to legal arguments, there are two lessons to take away from this episode. First, AI is a powerful assistant, but only that. The final judgment must always rest with us. No matter how seamless the output seems, cross-checking and verifying information remain essential. Second, as AI becomes integral to academic and professional life, institutions must equip students and employees with the skills to use it responsibly. Training and mentorship are no longer optional; they’re the foundation for using AI to enhance, not undermine, human work.

Because in this age of intelligent machines, staying relevant isn’t about replacing human judgment with AI, it’s about learning how to work alongside it.

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Finance

Hong Kong Becomes the Testing Ground for China’s Global Push

Mainland giants accelerate expansion as local players face unprecedented competition.

Ventureport Media Team

Updated

November 28, 2025 4:18 PM

HKTV Mall in Amoy Plaza. PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA USER -WPCPEY

Hong Kong is entering a new phase of competition as mainland platforms accelerate their expansion into the city, turning it into a frontline testing ground for Chinese companies preparing to push into global markets. With retail, logistics and food-delivery businesses all reshaped in the past year, Hong Kong has become the closest international environment where mainland firms can experiment with pricing, supply chains and customer behaviour under a familiar regulatory and cultural framework.

The shift became especially clear this week. At HKTVmall’s Vision Day on November 11, 2025, CEO Ricky Wong warned that Hong Kong’s traditional retail model is facing its toughest moment yet. He said the biggest threat is not mainland competitors like Taobao, JD.com or Pinduoduo entering Hong Kong, but the city’s longstanding dependence on physical shopping. If local retailers do not evolve, he said, they risk becoming “very easy to die of thirst in the desert”. Wong even welcomed the rise of mainland e-commerce giants, arguing that the more players enter the city, the faster consumers will shift online — a transition HKTVmall relies on for growth.

Yet his optimism is layered over a challenging reality. HKTVmall’s own numbers reflect pressure from competition and changing consumer habits. The company reported average daily GMV of HK$22.2 million during the latest shopping festival season — up 2.8% month-on-month but still down 4.3% compared year-on-year — showing that even established online platforms are struggling to maintain momentum as mainland entrants squeeze prices and widen product selection.

The city’s food-delivery market illustrates the shift even more sharply. Deliveroo, once the fastest-growing platform in Hong Kong and at one point holding more than half of the market, officially shut down in April this year after a long decline. Its trajectory mirrored the sector’s upheaval: the company surged during the pandemic but lost ground after restrictions eased, first overtaken by Foodpanda and then pressured heavily by Meituan-backed Keeta, which entered Hong Kong in 2023 and quickly seized about 30% of citywide orders.

Deliveroo’s exit and the handover of parts of its business to Foodpanda did little to stabilise the market. Keeta’s rapid expansion instead pushed Foodpanda onto the defensive, leaving two major players competing in a market shaped by mainland-style pricing and operations. Hong Kong’s delivery sector, once dominated by global firms, is increasingly defined by Chinese platforms optimizing speed and efficiency at a scale few competitors can match.

These changes are unfolding as Chinese companies shift their focus toward new global markets.

With China reducing its reliance on the US and EU and exports steadily moving toward ASEAN, Hong Kong has become a strategic launchpad. The city’s proximity, language familiarity and regulatory structure make it the nearest international setting where Chinese firms can test overseas strategies before expanding into Southeast Asia, the Middle East or Latin America. The result is a competitive intensity that local companies have rarely experienced. Retailers face price pressure they can’t match, local platforms are losing ground to mainland giants and global players are struggling to stay in the game.

Consumers benefit from lower prices, faster delivery and wider choice — but for Hong Kong businesses, the landscape has turned unforgiving. Mainland companies are not treating Hong Kong as a final destination but as the first stop in a broader global push. That positioning is reshaping the city’s entire consumer economy. As more mainland firms look outward, Hong Kong’s role as a testing ground will only deepen and the first players to feel the impact will be those operating closest to the consumer.