Robot MP named ‘AI Steve’ to run in General Election and might even chat to voters

An AI chatbot is set to run as an MP on behalf of an entrepreneur in the upcoming General Election in what is thought to be a UK first.

Steve Endacott has described his digital persona, AI Steve, as “Brighton and Hove’s first AI MP” and it has been designed to chat with voters on the internet. He also indicated that it would be AI Steve, not himself, who will be running in Brighton Pavilion next month.

A website has been launched that shows computer-generated pictures of AI Steve sporting a shirt and blazer. The entrepreneur said the tech has allowed him to speak to voters while living all the way in Rochdale – nearly 300 miles away.

On his website, a statement reads: “Although Steve maintains a house in Brighton and will use this when attending Parliament, he now lives in Rochdale with his new wife, restricting his time to talk to his constituents in Brighton and Hove.

“AI Steve was created to ensure that the people of Brighton and Hove had 24/7 access to leave opinions and create policies.” When it’s time to attend Parliament and implement AI Steve’s policies, Endacott said he would travel to Westminster himself.

The Parliamentary hopeful revealed that he created many of the policies, such as no VAT on private education, slashing student tuition fees, and launching a four-day working week by 2030.

Mr Endacott added: “We’re talking about reinventing democracy here, reconnecting voters directly back to their MPs so they can actually tell them what they want from the comfort of their own home.

“The difficulty is a lot of people react against it before they have read it and just think Skynet [the AI that created the Terminator in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film franchise]. There is supposed to be a Black Mirror episode that is similar – but I haven’t seen it.

“I’m very centrist, very practical. Basically imagine a businessman who goes into politics and not giving a s*** about politics. I don’t care about ego.

“There will be a generational gap here, some people will go what on earth is going on? We are trying to reinvent democracy, it’s serious it’s not a joke or a PR stunt. We are using AI Steve as a provocative title to get attention, we admit that.

“You can’t replace MPs. This is a tool for MPs they can use to better represent their constituency. We’re not aiming to make decisions by computer.

“We are trying to engage with more human beings in electoral decisions by using AI as a co-pilot.

On the website, a number of comments allegedly from constituents have heaped praise on the chatbot.

One said: “What an amazing concept. I spoke to AI Steve about my bins issue, and within minutes, we had devised a policy.

“He now recommends adding trackers to bin collection lorries, optimising routes based on demand and charging for higher usage, based on my comments. This is the first time I’ve had a politician listen to me.”