--- title: "Called Out for AI Slop, Andrew Cuomo Blames One-Armed Man" description: "Looking for a patsy, ex-New York governor and current NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo found one in his one-armed aide." date: "2025-04-15" modified: "2025-04-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/andrew-cuomo-ai-aide" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "chatgpt" - "housing" - "new york city" - "politics" --- # Called Out for AI Slop, Andrew Cuomo Blames One-Armed Man ![Looking for a patsy, ex-New York governor and current NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo found one in his one-armed aide.]() *\Image: Mike Segar / Pool via Getty / Futurism\* Looking for a patsy, ex-New York governor and current NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo found one: a one-armed man. As the [*New York Times* reports](), the aide in question, longtime Cuomo adviser Paul Francis, admitted to using ChatGPT to craft the [disgraced former governor]()'s new, typo-riddled [housing policy plan](). "It’s very hard to type with one hand," Francis, who had his [left arm amputated in 2012]() following a sudden illness, told the *NYT*. "So I dictate, and what happens when you dictate is that sometimes things get garbled. And try as I might to see them when I proofread, sometimes they get by me." The "things" that "got by" the career wonk include, but are not limited to, a headline with the term "objectively" misspelled as "Bbjectively," the mask-off claim that rent control is "symbolic," and a link to a [2024 *Gothamist* article]() that cited ChatGPT as the sourced used to pull it up. Though the 29-page policy document has [since been updated]() to remove its more glaring mistakes, an [archived version of the original thing]() shows the embarrassing errors in all their glory. The excuse also doesn't quite add up. There's nothing wrong with using dictation software, but why would that cause blatant spelling errors or a reference to ChatGPT? And why wasn't someone else reviewing the document before pushing it out? All told, it sounds a lot like a fictional explanation crafted by a political campaign to deter critics by throwing a man with a disability under the bus. Prior to Francis' admission in the *NYT*, the Cuomo campaign went back and forth with [local news website *Hell Gate*]() as to whether ChatGPT was used to write the document. After an initial non-denial from spokesperson Rich Azzopardi that thanked the outlet for "pointing out the grammar" errors, followed up with a longer explanation about the use of voice recognition software, and then claimed that the person who wrote the policy paper insisted they didn't use AI to write it. In a statement to *Hell Gate*, housing advocate Cea Weaver used the ChatGPT-generated errors to clown on the [scandalous ex-governor](). "\[Cuomo's\] campaign is so out of touch that he is outsourcing housing policy to a robot," Weaver, the director of the New York State Tenant Bloc, told the site. "But New Yorkers don't need ChatGPT to tell us that we need a rent freeze — it's 'bbjective.'" Obviously, this is far from the first time a politician has been [caught using AI]() — and with the [way things are going](), it certainly won't be the last. **More on inapproprite AI uses:** [*Judge Goes Ballistic When Man Shows AI-Generated Video in Court*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()