Congresswoman denies staff used AI to write defense funding amendment

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) says her staff used AI for “spellcheck” in an amendment summary for a major defense bill, but denies it was used for the bill text itself and says “NO Legislation is ever drafted with AI.”

Congresswoman denies staff used AI to write defense funding amendment

‘NO legislation is ever drafted with AI.’

Luna issued the response after accounts on X began sharing screenshots of an amendment summary for the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. It reads: “Identical to H.R. 100 (118th Congress).11:25 AM????Claude responded: Requires the Secretary of Defense to designate Department of Defense activities, support, and operations at the southwest land border as a named operation with…”

At first, Luna’s response seemingly indicated Claude had been used for amendment text. Her post said that “staff used AI to correct a draft text and didn’t edit.” Luna added: “Not a shocker. Most staff use it. I have told them to make sure they are double checking and more thorough.” After users on X began speculating that her staff is using the technology to write bills, Luna edited her response: “Yeah my staff used AI to spell/grammar check the amendment SUMMARY, not the actual amendment text itself,” her post now reads.

She followed it up with another: “FYI NO Legislation is ever drafted with AI. All bill text from the House comes from the House Legislative Council which is prohibited from using AI. The screenshot you’re referencing is an AI summary of the bill that’s also used for spellcheck, cmon man 🤣”.

As AI tools become more common in workplaces, so are references to the AI chatbots in places where they shouldn’t be. Over the past few years, judges have caught lawyers using AI chatbots to draft legal filings filled with fake citations. Lawmakers around the globe are turning to the technology as well, with city officials in Brazil unknowingly approving an ordinance written with ChatGPT. Arizona state representative Alexander Kolodin has also told The Verge that he’s used ChatGPT to write state-level legislation.

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