Jack Thorne, co-writer of Netflix's Adolescence and author of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, has warned that some screenwriters are secretly using AI to generate scripts rather than write them, calling this "cheating" that undermines the profession. In a London speech, Thorne, who is president of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, called for laws making it unlawful to pass off undeclared AI-generated content as one's own work, arguing this should be treated as fraud that employers could prosecute. He also criticised the UK government for being "dazzled by tech" and failing to protect writers' copyright from AI companies' mass-scraping of creative material.

Thorne distinguished between acceptable uses of AI, such as checking spelling or discussing ideas, and using it as "a replacement for writing at all". He urged broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 to impose sanctions on those caught using AI to generate their work, comparable to expulsion risks at universities for AI-written essays. He also called on the government to legislate against AI built on "thievery" of copyrighted material, noting that ministers abandoned a controversial opt-out proposal for AI training data last year after backlash, opting for a consultation instead. A government spokesperson said copyright laws must protect the UK's creative industries.