Commons Sense

House of Commons · General Debate

House of Commons Commission

15 June 2023 · 1 other contributor

Opened by Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

Science & TechnologyParliamentary Procedure

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Chi Onwurah raised concerns about house of commons commission in the House of Commons. Other MPs contributed to the debate.

Key points

  • The introduction of Android tablets has significantly increased the productivity of Members of Parliament by facilitating instant communication with their offices.
  • Technology, such as artificial intelligence, can help identify constituent requests in email inboxes overwhelmed with promotional emails.
  • AI could also monitor response times of government departments, enabling MPs to address delays effectively.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

The single greatest increase in my productivity as a Member of Parliament is probably due to the introduction of the Android tablet that I am holding. It enables me to share messages and casework instantly with my office, and I thank the Parliamentary Digital Service for providing it. Far from replacing us, technology can help us. Artificial intelligence could, for example, identify requests from constituents in an inbox flooded with PR emails, or automatically monitor the length of time the Home Office takes to respond to us so that I can raise it with you, Mr Speaker. Will the hon. Gentleman work with service providers such as Microsoft and Mimecast, and open-source providers, to ensure that we are always benefiting from the progress in technology?

Other contributors (1)
  • Charles Walker

    The House is very much open to the idea of artificial intelligence. I have prepared a long written answer for the hon. Lady, which I shall send her and a copy of which I shall place in the Library. I ask her please to be assured that we are looking at artificial intelligence, but there are real security issues in this place: there are a lot of really bad people out there who want to access the information that we hold about each other but also about our constituents, so these things can take a little time.

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