Word ‘Welsh' is offensive, says AI
Artificial intelligence has flagged the word 'Welsh' as possibly offensive, one user has claimed.
Jake Oliver, 29, claimed an AI voice coach told him the speech he had written as best man for his friend's wedding could be offensive because he used the word 'Welsh'.
He was using Microsoft Teams' Speaker Coach to practice the speech, hoping to get feedback on his tone and speed, when he received the unusual feedback.
The voice coach told him the word 'Welsh' in his speech 'might be offensive or non-inclusive in some cases'.
The advice came despite Mr Oliver only referencing guests' nationalities in an unoffensive way. He said he didn't get a similar warning for the use of 'English'.
Mr Oliver claimed that he received the same unusual warning from an AI notetaker, a tool he was running ahead of a meeting when he discussed his weekend plans – the wedding – ahead of a Teams call with colleagues.
'I found it very odd'
Mr Oliver, a data analyst from Upton Park, London, said: 'It spooked me for a bit and I found it very odd. I don't know why Welsh is offensive, and we all agreed that it was not offensive.
'I told the groom afterwards, to get his views on the notification. He was taken aback by it and said that it was not offensive.
'He's very proud of being Welsh, and said he couldn't imagine being offended by the term.'
He claimed the words 'crazy' and 'insane' were also flagged because they could be offensive towards anyone with mental health issues.
'I've kept the AI feature on for now because I still find it useful for making sure I don't sound too boring in meetings, but I'm definitely taking its suggestions a bit less seriously since this happened.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lawyers warned to stop using ChatGPT to argue lawsuits after AI programs 'made up fictitious cases'
Lawyers in England and Wales have been warned they could face 'severe sanctions' including potential criminal prosecution if they present false material generated by AI in court. The ruling, by one of Britain's most senior judges, comes on the back of a string of cases in which which artificially intelligence software has produced fictitious legal cases and completely invented quotes. The first case saw AI fabricate 'inaccurate and fictitious' material in a lawsuit brought against two banks, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, the second involved a lawyer for a man suing his local council who was unable to explain the origin of the nonexistent precedents in his legal argument. While large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI 's ChatGPT and Google 's Gemini are capable of producing long accurate-sounding texts, they are technically only focused on producing a 'statistically plausible' reply. The programs are also prone to what researchers call 'hallucinations' - outputs that are misleading or lack any factual basis. AI Agent and Assistance platform Vectera has monitored the accuracy of AI chatbots since 2023 and found that the top programs hallucinate between 0.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent of the time - with others dramatically higher. However, those figures become astronomically higher when the chatbots are prompted to produce longer texts from scratch, with market leader OpenAI recently acknowledging that its flagship ChatGPT system hallucinates between 51 per cent and 79 per cent of the time if asked open-ended questions. While large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini are capable of producing long accurate-sounding texts, they are technically only focused on producing a 'statistically plausible' reply - which can lead to them 'hallucinating' false information Dame Victoria Sharp, president of the King's Bench Division of the High Court, and Justice Jeremy Johnson KC, authored the new ruling. In it they say: 'The referrals arise out of the actual or suspected use by lawyers of generative artificial intelligence tools to produce written legal arguments or witness statements which are not then checked, so that false information (typically a fake citation or quotation) is put before the court. 'The facts of these cases raise concerns about the competence and conduct of the individual lawyers who have been referred to this court. 'They raise broader areas of concern however as to the adequacy of the training, supervision and regulation of those who practice before the courts, and as to the practical steps taken by those with responsibilities in those areas to ensure that lawyers who conduct litigation understand and comply with their professional and ethical responsibilities and their duties to the court.' The pair argued that existing guidance around AI was 'insufficient to address the misuse of artificial intelligence'. Judge Sharp wrote: 'There are serious implications for the administration of justice and public confidence in the justice system if artificial intelligence is misused,' While acknowledging that AI remained a 'powerful technology' with legitimate use cases, she nevertheless reiterated that the technology brought 'risks as well as opportunities.' In the first case cited in the judgment, a British man sought millions in damages from two banks. The court discovered that 18 out of 45 citations included in the legal arguments featured past cases that simply did not exist. Even in instances in which the cases did exist, often the quotations were inaccurate or did not support the legal argument being presented. The second case, which dates to May 2023, involved a man who was turned down for emergency accommodation from the local authority and ultimately became homeless. His legal team cited five past cases, which the opposing lawyers discovered simply did not exist - tipped off by the fact by the US spellings and formulaic prose style. Rapid improvements in AI systems means its use is becoming a global issue in the field of law, as the judicial sector figures out how to incorporate artificial intelligence into what is frequently a very traditional, rules-bound work environment. Earlier this year a New York lawyer faced disciplinary proceedings after being caught using ChatGPT for research and citing a none-existent case in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Attorney Jae Lee was referred to the grievance panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2025 after she cited a fabricated case about a Queens doctor botching an abortion in an appeal to revive her client's lawsuit. The case did not exist and had been conjured up by OpenAI's ChatGPT and the case was dismissed. The court ordered Lee to submit a copy of the cited decision after it was not able to find the case. She responded that she was 'unable to furnish a copy of the decision.' Lee said she had included a case 'suggested' by ChatGPT but that there was 'no bad faith, willfulness, or prejudice towards the opposing party or the judicial system' in doing so. The conduct 'falls well below the basic obligations of counsel,' a three-judge panel for the Manhattan-based appeals court wrote. In June two New York lawyers were fined $5,000 after they relied on fake research created by ChatGPT for a submission in an injury claim against Avianca airline. Judge Kevin Castel said attorneys Steven Schwartz and Peter LoDuca acted in bad faith by using the AI bot's submissions - some of which contained 'gibberish' - even after judicial orders questioned their authenticity.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Did Welsh Rarebit start out as a joke by the English?
It's a beloved national dish of Wales and is found on restaurant menus across the country, but did Welsh rarebit actually start life as a joke played by the English?Toasted bread smothered in a rich, cheesy sauce - what's not to love? But the origin stories of this nostalgic comfort food are as varied as the recipes you can use to make credit poor farmers using a clever substitute for meat while others think English pubs coined the name as a joke, mocking the Welsh for not affording real which of these cheesy tales cuts the mustard? Welsh food historian and author Carwyn Graves said rarebit was "clearly associated with cultural and ethnic Welshness", with cheese being a vital part of European diets for a long time, especially in regions like Wales, where the dairy industry the Middle Ages, before refrigeration, cheese and butter were essential for preserving milk from the spring and summer for use during the colder was also a vital source of protein for poorer communities, particularly in areas like Wales and the Alps, where meat was scarce. In Wales, melted or roasted cheese became popular across all social classes, eventually evolving into Welsh 1536 Act of Union, incorporating Wales into England, saw Welsh migrants bringing melted cheese dishes to English Graves said the English saw it as an ethnic curiosity, even joking about 16th Century tale sees Saint Peter trick Welshmen with the call caws bobi - Welsh for roasted cheese - which he said reflected the dish's cultural ties to name Welsh rarebit appeared much later, with early English cookbooks, such as Hannah Glasse's in 1747, using terms including Welsh rabbit and Scotch rabbit for similar cheese on toast Mr Graves said there was no historical evidence linking the name to actual rabbits and he said the theory that poor people couldn't afford rabbit meat and used cheese instead was unproven. Kacie, from The Rare Welsh Bit food blog said Welsh rarebit, also known as Welsh rabbit, originated in the 1500s as a popular dish among Welsh working-class families who couldn't afford meat like rabbit, using cheese on toast as a substitute. According to her, the dish was first recorded in 1725 and over time, the name shifted from Welsh rabbit to Welsh rarebit, possibly to move away "from patronising connotations associated with the nature of the dish as a poor man's supper". Katrina from Real Girls Travel explained "nobody's quite sure how the name came about", but it's generally believed "Welsh rarebit" likely began as a joke about the poor people of south Wales, who were thought to live on rabbit and ale. She added that many mistakenly think Welsh rarebit contains rabbit because the dish was originally called "Welsh rabbit" in 1725. According to Katrina, the name probably changed because, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the English often gave humorous or fanciful names to regional foods, making the change "an attempt to make it a more fitting dish"."I personally think it was a language barrier or a strong Welsh accent that gave the dish its name," she added. In Sarah Fritsche's blog the Cheese Professor, she explained the word "Welsh" was used as an insult in 1700s Britain, similar to how "welch" functioned as a pejorative. According to Ms Fritsche, "rabbit" was used humorously because only the wealthy could afford real rabbit, making the cheesy toast a "poor person's substitute".She added "rarebit" was a corruption of "rabbit" and is unique to this dish, first appearing as "rare bit". Rose Geraedts, originally from the Netherlands, has lived in Brecon, Powys, for 20 years and runs the International Welsh Rarebit opened the business eight years ago after noticing cafes and pubs in the area were not serving it, despite high demand from tourists. "I thought it was crazy that a national dish wasn't on the menu. I think many saw it as old-fashioned," she took over a disused Victorian school building, renovated it and made Welsh rarebit the star of the show."It seemed mad not to do it - but a lot of people think I'm nuts," she cafe now offers six varieties and Ms Geraedts said customers loved the dish's rich, comforting flavour, seasoned with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Ms Geraedts said she had welcomed visitors from around the world, from Australia to America, and even served celebrities including Jonathan Ross and rugby legend Gareth added: "People love it because it's nostalgic. They remember their mother or grandmother making it."It's much more than just dry cheese on toast."Ms Geraedts believes rarebit became popular due to Wales' connection to cheese-making, despite its name being a sarcastic "patronising" English joke. University lecturer, dietician, cook and food writer Beca Lyne-Pirkis said she first learned to make Welsh rarebit with her grandparents so it brings back "nostalgic memories".The 43-year-old, from Cardiff, said it was a great first dish to learn as it's "more complicated than cheese on toast" but not too Lyne-Pirkis said she has two versions - a rich, roux-based recipe with cheddar, beer, mustard and Worcestershire sauce and a quicker one mixing egg, cheese, and seasoning to spread on toast. The dish stayed with her through her university years and is now a favourite with her children."I fell in love with the flavour," she said."When I eat it I get the nostalgic childhood feeling as I have so many fond memories of eating it. That's where my love of food came from."Whatever the roots, Ms Lyne-Pirkis said rarebit was now a timeless, adaptable national dish rooted in family stories and experimentation."Every recipe has its own story, which helps keep the recipe alive."
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Killer sudoku 973
Click here to access the print version. Normal sudoku rules apply, except the numbers in the cells contained within dotted lines add up to the figures in the corner. No number can be repeated within each shape formed by dotted lines. To see the completed puzzle, buy the next issue of the Guardian (for puzzles published Monday to Thursday). Solutions to Friday and Saturday puzzles are given in either Saturday's or Monday's edition.
