Subhead:Rob Ashton, who is vying to become the next leader of the NDP, apologized after using artificial intelligence in responses to supporters as he raised concerns over the technology's impact on workers.# YouTube-embed:--cCltD4PR8 A contender to replace Jagmeet Singh as leader of the New Democrats was forced to make an apology for using artificial intelligence in responses to questions from supporters. Rob Ashton hosted a virtual campaign event on Reddit's section for discussion surrounding the federal NDP. As he raised concerns over the harmful impact AI might have on jobs, some sharp-eyed followers of the event detected the candidate was using the technology to reply to supporters' queries. Ashton, who currently serves as president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, confessed “some of those answers were written with the help of AI tools” in an apology that passed the blame on to his staff. On Wednesday's Buffalo Roundtable livestream , Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle were skeptical about the NDP leadership hopeful's excuse.