Civil servants have been asking if they are allowed to use Chat GPT artificial intelligence to help produce briefing materials.
Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyne, said he believes the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology “has had a number of requests as to whether they are allowed to use Chat GPT to help produce briefing materials”.
AI could “without a doubt” be helpful in Government, Hugh Milward, General Manager of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft UK explained.
During a discussion held by the Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday, Mr Milward said: “If we think about the challenges we face in policy-making, in governing, wherever we face a challenge, I think the opportunity there is to be creative about how AI can help to address that challenge.”
The AI bot has been used in Parliament before, when Jeremy Hunt enlisted the help of Chat GPT to write his speech on the economy on January 27.
In October 2022, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee launched an inquiry into the governance of AI. The inquiry will explore how the Government can ensure AI is used in an ethical way.
Greg Clark MP, chair of the Committee, said it is “crucial we have effective regulation in place”.
DSIT has reportedly advised civil servants to be cautious regarding the use of AI, but has not ruled it out entirely.
