Downing Street has said Prime Minister Andy Burnham writes "most of his own speeches" after an aide was photographed using ChatGPT while preparing an address.
A member of the Prime Minister's team was pictured asking the AI tool how to make his speech to the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday "a little more emotive". The photograph, published by the Mail on Sunday, appears to show the speechwriter sipping Prosecco while editing the address on an afternoon train travelling from London Euston to Holyhead.
Response from Number 10
A No 10 spokesperson said: "The PM writes most of his own speeches. An aide sought feedback on a speech draft that had already been written."
It is understood that the ChatGPT suggestions were not ultimately used.
Speech content and Thatcher criticism
According to the Mail, the chatbot had written: "I prefer the second (passage). It moves from the miners to their families to the wider community, showing how the experience of industrial work created bonds well beyond the workplace."
Mr Burnham used his Saturday speech to highlight the significance of "industry" in giving people a "deep sense of belonging", referencing Welsh 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".
Taking aim at Margaret Thatcher's legacy, he argued that the country "took some wrong turns in the 1980s that shattered the way of life for communities up and down Britain".
"Economic power privatised, political power centralised and, overall, a loss of agency in places up and down Britain," he said. "The mines closed, factories closed, steelworks silenced. It was felt everywhere. And, you know, that has kind of left us for 40 years in a place where communities haven't had the power that they needed to turn things around."
