A Downing Street speechwriter has been accused of using artificial intelligence to help draft a keynote address for Prime Minister Andy Burnham, prompting criticism from political rivals.
The No 10 aide was photographed drinking prosecco while using ChatGPT to make the Prime Minister's speech on the cost of living crisis more "emotive" during a train journey on Friday evening to the Welsh Labour conference.
Speech content and criticism
In the speech, Mr Burnham said: "I'm in no doubt whatsoever: cost of living is the top issue here in Wales, as it is in all parts of the UK."
Reform UK's chairman Lee Anderson told The Mail on Sunday: "It must be thirsty work writing speeches for Burnham. His bubbly-drinking socialists have no plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. AI Andy's man-of-the-people act has been exposed as a sham. He's an artificial prime minister who doesn't have the faintest clue what he believes or what he's doing."
AI suggestions and Thatcher criticism
The speechwriter was also seen asking ChatGPT about a section of the speech criticising Margaret Thatcher's legacy. The AI tool suggested using an "emotive" passage describing "working men's clubs, choirs and other social infrastructure" that were lost as Britain moved away from its industrial base.
In his speech on Saturday, Mr Burnham claimed the former Tory PM's premiership in the 1980s "shattered the way of life for communities up and down Britain" with "mines closed, factories closed, steelworks silenced".
The Prime Minister also spoke about "the workplaces that created a way of life, the social infrastructure that we took for granted, the working men's clubs, the sports teams, the choirs, the trade unions", adding: "People came together, looked out for each other."
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The PM writes most of his own speeches and this one was no exception."
