Highland politicians and artificial intelligence (AI) - can you spot the difference?
Local SNP MP Graham Leadbetter, who covers Nairn, Moray and Strathspey, has admitted in The National newspaper that he uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help write his speeches.
Graham is not the first politician to use AI to write a speech.
Tory member of the Welsh Parliament Tom Giffard used the controversial ChatGPT chatbot in 2023 to write a speech congratulating Wales on winning the World Cup of Darts.
Mr Giffard told BBC Wales that he made the speech “to show just how advanced technology is becoming”. BBC Wales claim that it is the first time the tool is known to have been used in the Welsh Parliament’s debating chamber.
I can see no evidence that using an AI chatbot to write a speech in Westminster, Holyrood or in the council chamber in Glenurquhart Road is against the rules, but should MPs, MSPs or councillors declare that their speech is AI-created?
It is a different context in academic life, as I know from my brief experience of post-retirement study from 2021-23.
Universities generally frown upon students using AI to prepare essays or dissertations and use the Turnitin plagiarism screening service that identifies pieces of text in students’ work that match with existing electronic texts.
However, no one is arguing that elected politicians in the Highlands and beyond should not use AI to help fight the corner of their constituents, to provide a better and more streamlined service for the public.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has argued that AI is the most important technological advance in decades.
He said in his blog post that AI “will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care and communicate with each other”.
Not everyone takes the same positive spin on AI as Bill Gates though.
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In 2023 the Westminster government published a report which said AI might soon assist hackers to launch cyberattacks or help terrorists to plan chemical attacks.
Previous US President Joe Biden signed a landmark deal with the UK to work together on testing the safety of advanced forms of AI – the first bilateral deal of its kind.
Former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosted the first global summit on AI safety in 2023.
Twenty eight nations attended the summit - including the US, European Union and China - and signed a statement about the future of AI. The signatories resolved to work together to ensure AI is trustworthy and safe.
Can, then, AI write speeches specifically for our busy and pressurised local politicians? One man may have the answer. Valentin Kassarnig at the University of Massachusetts has created an artificial intelligence machine that has learned how to write political speeches that are remarkably similar to “real” speeches.
Can you spot the difference between an AI-generated speech and the real thing? Maybe First Minister’s Questions or Prime Minister’s Questions will have a new appeal to all readers – can you spot the genuine article?
Warmest congratulations to former BBC and MFR journalist Jackie O’Brien, who will receive the prestigious Barron Trophy, recognising outstanding journalist achievement in the Highlands and Islands at the Press Ball next Friday.
I have known Jackie since my early political days as a parliamentary candidate.
She is talented, full of integrity and extremely knowledgeable about the Highlands and Islands.
She started her journalist career at MFR – like many other top-class professionals, such as Gary Robertson and Isobel Fraser.
Jackie worked for many years at the local BBC station in Inverness, both in radio and television, where she made an outstanding contribution alongside her colleagues, such as the indomitable Iain MacDonald.
Well done, Jackie!