How as an MP I am embracing the AI revolution - Luke Charters

It’s fair to say the use of AI has catapulted modern-day Britain into a new era.

Take one example - when I was leading the fraud department at a FinTech, AI was revolutionising the way we targeted fraudsters.

Like the invention of the internet and the smartphone, AI represents the next big quantum leap of technological advancement.

Yet at the same time we’re seeing hotly contested debates in Parliament about AI and copyright. The Trades Union Congress are rightly thinking about how AI might inadvertently discriminate against workers in hiring processes.

Yet for all the challenges it creates – there are 10 times the number of opportunities in my view.

A primary one being the fact that AI will transform services, especially in the NHS, where we can’t simply spend our way to improve patient outcomes.

For example, AI will make it easier to book appointments, help spot cancers earlier in scans, and reduce paperwork for doctors so they can focus on patients.

I recently took part in a Public Accounts Committee inquiry into how the government uses AI. I was surprised to hear civil servants confirm that fax machines are still in use in the NHS. And I was equally struck by the pile of paper my wife has accumulated during her maternity care.

It’s a stark reminder of just how far we have to go to enable AI as a society.

That’s why, as an MP, even in a world still filled with House of Commons printed order papers and hours of bobbing up and down to ask questions, I’ve embraced AI since being elected, just as the Government has.

Of course, it is no substitute for the human touch and it’s important to manage its use carefully.

For example, an AI tool can help me organise my diary in my role as an MP – but it wouldn’t be a substitute for me being at events, having conversations with my constituents – or getting across my thoughts to Ministers.

So I’m not afraid to admit it – but I may be the first.

I use AI tools to research material for my speeches, perhaps in a similar way to how I would have once used a search engine like google.

Fundamentally, given the limited resources of an MP’s office, it allows my team and I to work more efficiently and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

I’m excited about the transformative potential of AI for the remarkable businesses I represent, curious to see how my children will engage with AI in their classrooms in the next decade, and eager to watch AI enhance public services as quickly as possible.

I’m proud to be an MP embracing this revolution, where it’s appropriate and responsible to do so, just like the small enhancements AI has made to this piece.

Luke Charters is the Labour MP for York Outer.