Harnessing artificial intelligence in Parliament, India’s quest amid global goals

Amid the swift march of technology and the ever-altering landscape,  Artificial Intelligence is expanding and exploring frontiers across spectrum like never before. The contours of this technology is yet to be determined and as people and societies continue to experiment with AI, one prime institution, Parliament of India, is taking a forward leap.

It is a matter of time the Lok Sabha, the House of the People, will embark upon harnessing AI to provide real time service in a variety of ways. Off the block will be to make available,  proceedings of the House in 22 Indian languages, through this technology. It is a work in progress with the objective of making it a reality early next year. Currently, Parliament takes pride of providing simultaneous translation in all the languages through human  voice.

This is just one of the many innovations on the anvil among plans to marshal resources from AI that will make the work of Parliamentarians efficacious, It is aimed at providing members more time to prepare for debates, discussions and most important, Question Hour, which holds the Government of the day accountable. Among the clutch of issues the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is working on is to make available answers from Ministry concerned to Members whose questions are admitted questions on the eve. The idea is based on to equip members to  prepare supplementary questions. The practice in vogue is that Government response is circulated only on the designated day during the Question Hour.

Another aspect that has significant impact on the work and outreach of Members is making available uncorrected draft of the debates, discussions and matter raised during the day. The intention is to cut down the time lag which at present can be anywhere between 90-120 minutes since transcription is done manually.

CSPOC and AI

At the 28th Commonwealth Speakers and Presding Officers Conference hosted by Parliament of India, the assembly devoted a session discussing various facets on “AI in Parliament: Balancing Innovation, Oversight and Adaption”.

The participants explored areas where AI can work for Parliament in breaking down complex issues and tackling information overload; sharing of platforms to support smaller parliaments; concern over inadequate technology availability and resultant slower adoption of  digital tools;  need for training and international collaboration to strengthen institutions become AI ready.

Among the suggestions that flowed were to create special parliamentary committees that can become watchdogs on AI and emerging technologies including institutional mechanism which can monitor advancement. This oversight, in turn, would allow the committees to suggest change in policy and recommend laws to keep pace.

While the importance of parliamentarians taking into stride AI and adapting it, a candid observation by  Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh brought to fore the challenge. There could be nothing artificial in the institution where every word spoken is real Truth, accountability, transparency and public trust, irrespective of technology, remains foundational principles Parliament, he stressed. The work of the institution cannot be delegated or outsourced to AI while harnessing it for efficiency and improvement.

This facet also took the deliberations to dwell upon how parliaments can employ AI in administrative work with proper guardrails. The limitations too were in sight. The argument being that there can be no vigil on how individual members use AI, on grounds of parliamentary privileges. The debate does reflect the various facets of a vastly unexplored territory and how elected representatives view possible areas of convergence and divergence.

International resource for ParliamentsThe Inter Parliamentary Union, came out with a document last November titled: “Maturity Framework of AI in Parliaments” noting that “Real-world AI adoption in parliaments is inherently complex and context dependent, requiring a nuanced understanding of institutional development.

Just as a parliament’s overarching digital strategy develops across several interconnected areas, so does the institution’s AI maturity. As a parliament advances in these areas, it demonstrates successful and responsible implementation of AI, moving from the initial foundations through to innovation leadership”.

The report offers an assessment of six levels of maturity starting from Ad-hoc, Initial, Emerging, Implementation, Integration and Leadership. It stated the classification was not a linear path, set in stone to be followed in succession. It could be possible for a parliament to reach level one in  one area and another level elsewhere. IPU recognised that depending on priorities, resources, parliaments would move forward at its own pace. Yet, to achieve meaningful AI maturity, it was essential to work for a sustained development across four areas - Governance, Technical Capability, Organisational Capability and Democratic Impact. It also provided qualitative and quantitative metrics to measure maturity of AI in parliaments. The document concludes adoption of AI in parliaments is both an opportunity and challenge, as the technology continues to alter global democratic governance

The adoption of AI in parliaments represents a significant opportunity and a complex challenge. As AI continues to reshape democratic governance  and the need for parliament to work its way, in this voyage, it needs to have balance, innovation with larger goal of preserving democratic values, transparency and public trust.

Challenges and concern

AI and its march is unmistakable. As people and societies continue to experiment and various technological platforms offer primers to  prepare individuals, institutional engagement needs calibration.

For instance,  concerns remain on what the technology can do to wreck reputation through fake and doctored videos, especially those in public life. Tackling this menace will require collective work at different levels on ethical use of AI. The onus will descend on parliamentarians to draw the red lines without compromising the fundamental  issue - freedom of speech and expression.

As  parliaments across the world are preparing to roll-out AI for its work, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada, Francis Scarpaleggia, flagged concern over basic issues like quality of translation, accuracy of data, misinformation and practicality of imposing limits or enforcing oversight over AI-assisted speech and communication by parliamentarians.

At the Delhi conference, IPU President Tulia Ackson stated the intervention by the body that represents 180 plus parliaments, kept its sight on global regulatory challenge posed by the ever-changing nature of AI technology and advocated regulating AI both within parliaments and the society. The journey has begun.

Writer is a veteran journalist who has reported Parliament since 1995; views are personal