Prince Harry’s speech on AI cut short by awkward teleprompter malfunction
Prince Harry had a bit of an awkward moment when his speech on the dangers of AI was cut short due to a technical problem.
The Duke of Sussex was delivering a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative event in New York on Wednesday, 23 September, where he spoke about the growing threat of AI and urged people not to ‘gamble’ with children’s lives when it came to tech.
However, his speech didn’t quite run to plan as the teleprompter failed mid-speech.
"We do not have years for what comes next," the 42-year-old before taking a long pause.
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He then stared towards the teleprompter, put his hand in his pocket and joked: “And that’s it.”
The audience broke out into laughter, followed by a round of applause as a red-faced Harry was forced to leave the mic on the podium and exit the stage.
He returned around 40 minutes later and joked: “Hello again. So AI got into my speech, so I was asked to come out and finish it.
“Interesting to see what it was so concerned about in part two.”
Harry, who took part in the first main stage session of the day called Getting Disruption Right, gave an impassioned speech, saying he spoke ‘as a father’ as he addressed his concerns about AI and the future.
“Innovation has never required us to gamble with our children’s lives. We should not accept that bargain now,” he said.
The duke, who is dad to Archie and Lilibet, added: “I come to this as a father — one who has shared countless conversations with other parents as they mourned the loss of their children to recklessly built technology.
“And as a father, I will remind you of the faces that accompanied me the last time I stood before you. Hundreds have become thousands.”
In powerful scenes, he then shared a backdrop of lock screen photos of children who took their own lives or suffered serious harm through experiences on social media.
As he shared the images, he said: “It’s the same playbook that built the last crisis — only now the technology is more persuasive, more intimate, and more powerful.
“And there is another difference this time.
“Social media learned how to capture our attention. AI is learning how to enter our relationships.”
He added: “It doesn’t just want your attention, it wants your attachment. It wants to be the thing you confide in.
“The thing that remembers you. The thing that tells you it understands you. The ultimate sycophant. For a child, that distinction matters enormously.
“We have spent years trying to loosen technology’s grip on children’s attention. We cannot wait another decade to discover what happens when technology has a grip on their relationships.”
Harry and his wife Meghan’s Archewell foundation launched the Parents Network in 2024 as a support network for parents of children affected by online harm.
A spokesman for the duke confirmed there had been a fault with the teleprompter and it was fixed while others including former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton took to the stage, with Harry returning later to deliver the second part of his address.
Topics: Prince Harry, AI, Technology, Royal Family
Claire Reid