AI candidate shakes up UK elections: voters to control policies

In the upcoming elections to the UK Parliament, a candidate created by artificial intelligence is running. Is this the path to real direct democracy?

The parliamentary elections to the House of Commons will be held in the United Kingdom on July 4. Polls indicate that after 14 years in power, the Conservatives will lose to the opposition Labour Party. This is not the only change that could occur in these elections. They could also be the first in which a candidate created by artificial intelligence (AI) wins a mandate.

Behind the avatar of Steve AI is Steve Endacott, an entrepreneur from southern England. However, he does not decide what policies the avatar can bring to the House of Commons from the Brighton Pavilion constituency. The residents of the area from which he is running determine the political promises and voting behavior of Steve.

On the dedicated campaign website, AI Steve asks users if they want to join the team of "creators" who will help him create new policies. Potential voters do this by clicking the "Talk to AI Steve" option and filling in personal information before interacting with the virtual avatar.

Supporters of Steve can also become reviewers of his proposals. The avatar asks them to "devote just a few minutes a week" to "act as a control mechanism to prevent silly policies." They can do this by assigning each policy suggestion posted on the site a rating from one to ten points. The interaction is available to people from the virtual candidate's constituency, which is verified on the website.

Policies that receive more than 50% support will be included in Steve's election program. Most importantly, if he gets into parliament, he will vote in the manner determined by the voters, who will be able to hold him accountable in real-time on the website ai-steve.co.uk. Accepted proposals so far include improving the cycling infrastructure in the region, a four-day workweek, and increasing the number of places in the local prison to "firmly fight against crime."

In a LinkedIn post, Steve Endacott announced his decision to establish his own party due to his dissatisfaction with how disconnected the current parties are from the people of the United Kingdom. He also stressed that Steve AI is designed to be accessible to everyone, not just AI enthusiasts, and requires no prior knowledge of artificial intelligence.

If Endacott is elected, he will be "physically" present in parliament, voting on policy based on direct feedback received through his AI platform.

Source: euronews.com, steve-ai.co.uk