Prince Harry returned to the US stage with a stumble on Wednesday — just weeks after jetting back to the UK with American wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, made his return to the spotlight at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence – especially for children.
“I come to this as a father,” Harry said, the father of Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. “One who has shared countless conversations with other parents as they mourned the loss of their children to recklessly built technology.”
Just as he was taking shots at Big Tech and warning of the dangers of technology, Harry’s speech was abruptly interrupted by a technical failure.
The youngest son of King Charles III and Princess Diana was forced to exit the stage roughly seven minutes into his remarks. Only 40 minutes later could he return to finish up his doomsday outlook.
“Hello again,” Harry joked. “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.”
The prince warned that tech giants aim to “find you, hook you, exploit you, break and then blame you.”
“Social media learned how to capture our attention. AI is learning how to enter our relationships,” Harry continued. “It doesn’t just want your attention; it wants your attachment. It wants to be the thing you confide in.”
Harry moved his family back to the UK in August for an “extended period” after he and Meghan failed to make it in America as Netflix celebrities or successful book authors during their six years of “Megxit”.
They are residing outside of London and won’t return as working royals in the UK.
Harry quickly came back to the Big Apple this week to cozy up to former President Bill Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea for their annual gathering of world leaders.
Harry branded AI as the “ultimate sycophant,” and warned that technology is advancing faster than researchers can keep up.
“And as a father, I will remind you of the faces that accompanied me the last time I stood before you,” Harry said while showing images of children. “Hundreds have become thousands. Thousands of parents grieving their children. Millions of families are living with the consequences of a digital revolution that moved faster than our willingness to protect them.”
The royal has made protecting young people from technology a recurring cause.
In 2024, he also spoke at the forum, warning about the horrors of the “dangerously powerful” social media conglomerates.
