AI Steve: The UK’s First AI Candidate for Parliament
Introduction to AI Steve
As the United Kingdom approaches its upcoming elections, a groundbreaking development has emerged: an AI candidate named AI Steve. This avatar, representing Brighton-based businessman Steven Endacott, is running for Parliament as an Independent.
Voting and Interaction
Voters can cast their ballots for AI Steve and engage with the AI to discuss policy positions or raise their own issues. AI Steve will then integrate these suggestions into its platform.
Human Representation
Steven Endacott will serve as the in-person representative, attending meetings and parliamentary sessions on behalf of AI Steve. He envisions AI Steve as a tool for fostering a more direct form of democracy.
“We are actually, I think, reinventing politics using AI as a technology base, as a copilot, not to replace politicians but to really connect them into their audience, their constituency,”
says Endacott.
Ballot Listing Error
Currently, AI Steve is mistakenly listed on the ballot as Steve AI, an error that Endacott is working to correct.
Development and Capabilities
AI Steve was created by Neural Voice, an AI voice company chaired by Endacott. According to cofounder Jeremy Smith, AI Steve can handle up to 10,000 conversations simultaneously.
“A key element is creating your own database of information,”
says Smith.
“And how to inject customer data into it.”
Inspiration and Motivation
Endacott’s frustration with traditional politics inspired the creation of AI Steve. He is particularly concerned about environmental issues and believes significant governmental changes are needed to combat climate change.
“The only way to do that is to stop talking to the outside and get inside the tent and start actually changing policy.”
he says.
Policy Validation
AI Steve aims to be different by transcribing and analyzing voter conversations and presenting policy issues to “validators”—ordinary people who can express their support or opposition to specific policies. Endacott’s team plans to engage commuters at the Brighton train stop, asking them to complete short policy surveys via email during their commutes.
“Having the voting system of validators to actually check those policies to make sure they’re common sense, and also in control of saying, ‘In Parliament, we want you to vote this way,’ just makes sense to me,”
says Endacott.
Early Feedback
AI Steve has been live for only a short time, but early interactions have highlighted concerns about the conflict in Palestine and local issues like trash collection.
Commitment to Constituents
Endacott acknowledges that his personal opinions may sometimes differ from those of AI Steve. However, he is committed to voting in line with the preferences expressed by constituents through AI Steve.
“Surely in a democracy, it’s what your constituents want,”
he says.
“I know that it sounds so obvious, that a politician should be told what to do by his constituents. And if he doesn’t like it, tough luck. Get out of the job.”
1 Comment
Are we really so uninspired that we need AI to fix human problems now?!