While arguing that artificial intelligence poses issues for humanity, Prince Harry had to cut his speech short due to technical issues.
The Duke of Sussex's speech at the Clinton Global Initiative event in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 23, did not go as planned after his teleprompter appeared to malfunction.
"We do not have years for what comes next," the 42-year-old said on stage before taking a long pause.
After walking on stage and staring at the teleprompter, Harry put his hand in his pocket and said: "And that's it." The crowd then broke into laughter before giving the royal figure applause. He placed his microphone on the podium and exited the stage.
USA TODAY has reached out to Prince Harry's representatives for comment.
Harry returned to the
stage 40 minutes later to resume his remarks, quipping "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," he said.
Prince Harry warns against AI's impact on children 'as a father'
Speaking "as a father," he urged everyone not to wait before placing protections for children from online harm. He highlighted lawsuits, alleging that AI companion chatbots contributed to the deaths of teenagers "who trusted them with things no child should have been left alone to ask an algorithm."
"Innovation has never required us to gamble with our children’s lives. We should not accept that bargain now," he said.
Harry argued AI continues to pose a growing threat, adding, "It’s the same playbook that built the last crisis — only now the technology is more persuasive, more intimate and more powerful."
He said that social media has learned how to capture people's attention and that AI is learning how to enter relationships.
"The thing that remembers you. The thing that tells you it understands you. The ultimate sycophant. For a child, that distinction matters enormously," he said. "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's speech marked his first return to the United States since moving back to the United Kingdom in September alongside Duchess Meghan and their two children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Harry's AI speech cut short by teleprompter glitch
