The MP said the technology could be used to help UK citizens follow parliamentary business “in real time, in a way that people can understand debates, votes, how decisions are taken… making Parliament closer to the public, but also ensuring that the public don’t move further away from Parliament, [and] they don’t end up having debates in dark spaces and voting for extreme parties”.
Joining Ms Ghani on the panel were, among others, the former editor of the Independent, Chris Blackhurst - who expressed concern about AI’s impact on journalism and the wider media industry - and the digital consultant Rupert Knowles, who argued that AI will in fact be a good thing for journalism, as it improves newsrooms’ technological efficiency.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion in London’s Stationers’ Hall on Monday night, the Conservative MP for Sussex Weald suggested that, if used in a responsible way, the technology could be used to bring “Parliament closer to the public” and prevent voters drifting towards “extreme” political movements.
Her goal, she explained, is to “harness and embrace the power of AI before it becomes an assassin of democracy”, emphasising that in order to do that, AI in the UK must be “created by us, for us and [be] transparent and accurate”.
Nusrat Ghani, a deputy speaker of the House of Commons, told the London Press Club this week that artificial intelligence (AI) must be “harnessed” as a force for good “before it becomes an assassin of democracy”.
