Politics
Increase In MP Statements Drafted By AI
Soaring numbers of MPs’ statements to parliament are being written using artificial intelligence without the public being told, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Research by academics at Napier University in Edinburgh revealed that 15% of written ministerial statements contained at least some AI content in 2026.
That is up from 8.1% last year, and a huge leap from 3.5% in 2022.
Evidence of AI’s increasing popularity among politicians comes just a day after it was claimed that it could kill humanity by the end of the decade.
The Napier University researchers looked at around 4,200 statements on parliament’s Hansard website as part of their work.
They found that 243 contained AI-assisted content, with the numbers increasing year on year.
Associate researcher Andrea McGlinchey said politicians should be up front that they use AI in their work.
She said: “While our research does not address regulatory frameworks and focuses only on evidence of undisclosed AI usage in the language patterns of parliamentary texts, our results suggest that greater transparency is required.”
In June, Louise Haigh – a close ally of PM Andy Burnham who is now effectively his deputy – admitted using AI in an article she wrote for the left-wing magazine Renewal.
It came after Archie Hall, a journalist at the Economist, used an AI detection tool to examine the article.
A spokesman for Ms Haigh said: “The words and ideas are Louise Haigh’s – to suggest otherwise is untrue. Like most articles, this was written following a series of conversations and AI editing tools were used for version control.”
Analysis last year also suggested that more and more MPs are using AI to write the speeches they deliver in the Commons.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, who is now shadow foreign secretary, condemned the practice.
In a post on X, he said: “If you can’t make an argument without the whips giving you the question or ChatGPT turning a handout into a speech, who are you representing? Clearly not the electorate.”
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