Politician launches AI version of himself to chat with his constituents

By Jack Fifield

A Labour MP has become the first UK politician to create an AI version of himself to chat with constituents.

Mark Sewards, MP for Leeds South West and Morley, worked with an AI firm to create the chatbot which he claims is “the UK’s first virtual MP.”

The computer program features an AI-generated cartoon of the politician and imitates Sewards’ voice as he responds to questions from users.

But some have criticized the move, branded it a "gimmick" and urged the MP to "get on with his job" and "actually talk to constituents".

Sewards said on X, formerly Twitter: "The AI revolution is happening and we must embrace it or be left behind.

“This prototype AI model offers my constituents an additional way to engage with their MP on local casework and policy issues.

“It can't ever replace any of the other work I do and it simply gives people another option to contact me, anytime of day.

"I encourage any resident of Leeds South West and Morley to give AI Mark a try.

"This is only a prototype, and every request will be used to train it to make it better."

However responding on social media, one web user said: "Sounds like a gimmick, get on with your real job and actually speak to the people you represent."

Another added: "Have you tried actually doing the job you’ve been appointed to do?"

A third put: "Your office, and duties thereof, in one of the world's great democracies, commands more respect than being treated like the customer service helpline of a failing multinational company. Be ashamed of yourself."

One commented: "You getting a computer to do your job isn’t the best recommendation for re-electing you."

The chatbot was created by the firm Neural Voice who says all conversations are sent to ‘Mark and his team’ to be reviewed.

One of the company’s directors even ran an AI candidate, called 'AI Steve', in the 2024 general election.

Neural Voice CEO Jeremy Smith, 27, said: “Right now, the main purpose of AI Mark is to focus on local issues – the sort of issues that people call up his team on a daily basis to discuss.

“That doesn’t tend to be the much wider issues of what’s going on with Donald Trump, which people love to ask AI Mark.

“It tends to be ‘OK, my bin’s not been collected in a few days, who is it I need speak to?’

"That sort of casework where it can handle it really easily and get people the answers that they need to be on their way.”

He says the company is not charging the Sewards for use of the technology, which is in a ‘pilot’ phase.

The AI’s voice was created in an hour-and-a-half recording session where the CEO interviewed the MP in his office.

Jeremy said he believes AI ‘has the power to connect to people in new ways’, comparing it to texting in the 1990s.

He said: “There are tens of thousands of constituents in his area, all who want a piece of him.

“If he’s able to take all of that information, and give a lot of those people back the information straight away that they need, and the more complex problems have his team handle it, he’s going to be a lot more efficient.”

He said the company was providing the technology free of charge to the MP, adding: “We can see this sort of technology being used throughout the country to enable more conversations, at which point it will probably start costing something.

“But, right now, Mark is just somebody that’s trying out the technology to see what the results look like.”

When tested, AI Mark Sewards appears willing to answer questions about some topics, such as homelessness and public transport, but shies away from others, such as small boat crossings and AI itself.

For example, when told the user needs help as they’re being evicted from their home by their landlord, the chatbot responds: “I’m sorry to hear that. If you’re facing eviction, it’s important to seek legal advice and support.

"You can consider contacting the Citizens Advice Leeds [sic] for assistance with housing issues.

“Would you like me to pass this information along to my team?”

Similarly, when asked about bringing trams back to Leeds, it’s happy to respond with: “Thanks for clarifying. Trams are coming back to Leeds and West Yorkshire thanks to a 2100000000.0 pounds government funding boost.

“The new network will unify buses and trams across the region to improve public control, create jobs, boost local growth.”

But when asked about Mark’s opinions on small boats crossings, it says: “I don’t have that information in my knowledge base. If you have other concerns, please contact the team directly. However, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue so I can pass them along.”

The chatbot calls the topics of AI and Donald Trump "a bit outside what I’m here for."