Swedish Prime Minister says he uses AI for a ‘second opinion’ in leadership decisions

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has revealed that he regularly turns to artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT and LeChat, to help guide his thinking in political decision-making, describing it as a way to gain a “second opinion”.

Speaking to Dagens industri, a Swedish business newspaper, Mr Kristersson said that AI was a tool he used “quite often,” particularly when considering alternative perspectives or approaches.

“If for nothing else than for a second opinion. What have others done? And should we think the complete opposite? Those types of questions,” he explained.

Mr Kristersson, whose Moderate party leads Sweden’s centre-right coalition government, noted that his colleagues also made use of AI in their daily work.

While the Prime Minister’s openness to using emerging technologies in leadership reflects a growing global trend, experts in the field have emphasised the importance of caution.

Simone Fischer-Hübner, a computer science researcher at Karlstad University, told Aftonbladet that political leaders must be “very careful,” particularly when it comes to sensitive information.

Mr Kristersson’s spokesperson, Tom Samuelsson, stressed that the Prime Minister does not use AI in a way that compromises security. “Naturally it is not security sensitive information that ends up there. It is used more as a ballpark,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s remarks have sparked a wider conversation in Sweden and beyond about the role of AI in government, as leaders around the world explore how such tools can be used responsibly in public service and policymaking.