“when organisations choose silence as policy, who is left to correct the record when machines speak incorrectly in their name?”
By John Donovan
There is an unavoidable irony in the fact that I have found myself clarifying the absence of a public statement by Shell plc — effectively correcting the record on Shell’s behalf — after an AI system incorrectly attributed a corporate position that does not exist.
This episode did not arise because Shell spoke. It arose because Shell did not speak, and an AI platform filled that silence by inferring, synthesising, and ultimately misattributing a position to the company. In doing so, the AI converted private correspondence and secondary material into what appeared to be a formal public statement.
That inversion is not trivial. It illustrates a structural problem in AI-mediated information environments: where corporate silence no longer results in the absence of narrative, but instead increases the risk that narrative will be generated elsewhere — sometimes inaccurately.
It is important to stress, however, that my clarification relates solely to the specific misattribution identified. It should not be assumed that I accept, endorse, or agree with the accuracy of other comments, characterisations, or interpretations contained in the AI-generated transcript of the conversation, beyond the narrow factual point addressed.
The significance of this episode lies not in any single claim, but in the process itself. An AI system made an error. The system then described that error abstractly, without clearly identifying itself as the source. And the correction was supplied not by the corporation concerned, but by the individual whose long-running dispute formed the subject matter.
That sequence raises a broader question for companies, regulators, and AI developers alike:
when organisations choose silence as policy, who is left to correct the record when machines speak incorrectly in their name?
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
