AI Blunder Sparks Outrage: US Says Sorry After Nigeria Is Misplaced On Global Conference Map

The United States Department of State has apologised after an artificial intelligence-generated map of Africa displayed during the AIDS 2026 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, incorrectly positioned Nigeria and several other African countries.

The inaccurate map, which appeared during a presentation on new U.S. global health agreements, sparked criticism after attendees shared images of the slide on social media, questioning how the geographical errors made it into an official government presentation.

Video footage from the event showed an OpenAI watermark on the slide, indicating that the map had been created using the company’s artificial intelligence technology.

Among the most noticeable mistakes, Nigeria was wrongly shown as a landlocked country in the Sahara Desert instead of its actual location along the Gulf of Guinea. Mozambique was also misplaced in the Horn of Africa, while Côte d’Ivoire was incorrectly relocated to another part of the continent.

The map first attracted widespread attention after HIV/AIDS expert Emily Bass published screenshots from the presentation in a Substack post.

In response to the backlash, the U.S. State Department issued an apology, saying the errors resulted from last-minute changes made to the presentation before it was delivered.

According to the department, a staff member inserted the incorrect map during a rushed revision shortly before the conference began.

“We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners,” the department said in a statement.

OpenAI has also acknowledged the incident, saying it is looking into how the inaccurate image was generated and used.

Despite the controversy, the State Department said the conference discussions remained productive and reiterated the United States’ commitment to supporting global HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and response efforts.