ChatGPT conversations were briefly accessible on Google - including one called "NHS Future Reform Plan"
A publicly shared chat mentions a “GP-AI” initiative and mentions Health Secretary Wes Streeting - but its origin and authenticity remain unclear.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that shared ChatGPT chats could be indexed on Google - meaning that a whole heap of potentially sensitive conversations were available online.
Now Machine has discovered a chat entitled "NHS Future Reform Plan" that appears to show someone - possibly a civil servant - discussing a project called "GP-AI" in a shared ChatGPT conversation that mentions Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We cannot confirm if the conversation is genuine, whether the project exists, or if Streeting is involved in any way.
The Health Secretary is a popular politician who is sometimes discussed as a potential successor to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, should he step down in future.
The chat was briefly available in Google thanks to a quirk which indexed some conversations when people opted to share a ChatGPT with another person - although this now appears to be fixed.
Last night, we were able to use the search term "site:chatgpt.com/share" followed by words like "NHS" to find chats which may have originated inside Whitehall — though we have not been able to verify this.
The chat is still available to read, but cannot be found on Google.
What did the chat called "NHS Reform Plan" show?
The chat appears to show a junior member of staff carrying out the simple task of summarising a document called Build an NHS Fit for the Future from the government's Plan for Change. It appears - but cannot be confirmed - that the person may have been copying and pasting excerpts from internal messages or emails.
We have decided to refer to the person mentioned in the chats as Dave for clarity. We do not know if the name used in the chat was a real name, a pseudonym, or simply a handle used to refer to an AI model.
"Hi, Dave, we need a summary of the points below," one prompt said. "For the main conversation we're working on. Please provide headers for the main points."
The AI then dutifully churned out a nice list of bullet points to summarise the document.
In a follow-up prompt, the operator wrote the words: "Dave, that's really great could you please make it again but with the main points as headers when I copy it over to a word document I can see them. Please keep the numbering. And please keep the bullet points exactly as they are."
This also looks a lot like an email or instant message that has been pasted into ChatGPT. But that's our assumption, not a confirmed fact.
Then comes the interesting bit: a reference to a project called GP-AI or GPAI - which we do not believe has been mentioned in public before. It appears to be linked to previously stated plans to use AI to streamline public-facing services.
What is GP-AI?
GP could potentially stand for "general purpose", but it could also refer to general practitioners (GPs) who deliver front-line patient care - but we do not know for sure at this stage.
"Thank you Dave," the prompt said. "I have gone through the list and found points that are particularly relevant to the GPAI project for Wes Streeting (our current main project). And I have made notes in brackets for all of the points that are relevant.
"Can you please rewrite out the list. Call it: GP-AI Project and Labour plan to build an NHS fit for the future."
Quoting from this list, we were able to see further details of the GP-AI/ GPAI project, depending on how the operator fancied spelling it.
Again, we cannot confirm this is a genuine project and whether the messages came from within the government.
GP-AI will be "an accessible, efficient system for all", the ChatGPT chat said. It will "streamline appointments" and handle "non-urgent cases efficiently".
The system's diagnostic capabilities can "incorporate scan results to support early diagnosis" and will "integrate preventive care advice and identify risks early through data and AI tools".
It will help to manage chronic conditions and support mental health initiatives by "offering immediate triage and referral services".
"GP-AI will ease the strain on staff by managing routine and non-urgent consultations," the ChatGPT Conversation said. "GP-AI will integrate seamlessly with the NHS app, offering patients more control and access to personalised advice."
We have written to Wes Streeting and the Department of Health and Social Care for comment. But neither has responded.
To reiterate, this article is based on publicly accessible content that has not been verified. While we believe the material is newsworthy and have taken care to report it responsibly, readers should treat all claims as unconfirmed unless stated otherwise.
What has OpenAI said about chats being shared to Google?
In a statement, OpenAI said: "We just removed a feature from [ChatGPT] that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google. This was a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations. This feature required users to opt in, first by picking a chat to share, then by clicking a checkbox for it to be shared with search engines (see below).
"Ultimately we think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn’t intend to, so we’re removing the option. We’re also working to remove indexed content from the relevant search engines. This change is rolling out to all users. Security and privacy are paramount for us, and we’ll keep working to maximally reflect that in our products and features."
