One of the most unusual candidates in the forthcoming UK general election is a character created entirely by artificial intelligence and who is the virtual double of a very real entrepreneur. So who is this mysterious AI Steve?
The UK goes to the polls with a general election on July 4, electing members of the House of Commons. Among the many candidates, one certainly stands out from the crowd, having been created by generative artificial intelligence. Called AI Steve, this Independent parliamentary candidate is, in fact, an avatar of real-life businessman Steve Endacott, who would act as the physical representative of his AI counterpart in Parliament, if elected.
In an interview with Wired, Steve Endacott explains that he has no intention of replacing politicians: “We are actually, I think, reinventing politics using AI as a technology base, as a copilot, not to replace politicians but to really connect them into their audience, their constituency.”
In terms of technology, AI Steve was designed by Neural Voice, an AI voice company chaired by Steve Endacott. Any internet user can chat with AI Steve, asking the AI any question via its official website. AI Steve is claimed to be able to hold up to 10,000 simultaneous conversations. Steve Endacott’s idea is to be able to answer voters’ questions 24 hours a day, in an original, novel way, thanks to his AI avatar.
The use of generative AI and the presence of a “virtual” candidate in such an election campaign obviously raises a number of ethical questions. However, it is likely that this type of initiative will multiply in the years to come. While the likelihood of AI Steve winning on July 4 is relatively low, it is nonetheless a formidable promotional tool for Neural Voice’s expertise.