The key facts

  • State Duma deputy Dmitry Shatunov (LDPR) will test AI in parliamentary work
  • This concerns analyzing legislation, reference materials, citizens' appeals, and information searches
  • Based on the results, he will assess the effectiveness of various neural networks for future work

An experiment in the State Duma

Dmitry Shatunov (LDPR), a member of the State Duma Committee on Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence, intends to test how effectively artificial intelligence technologies can be used in a deputy's work. He spoke about this in a comment to RIA Novosti, which is cited by Gazeta.Ru.

What exactly will be tested

According to the deputy, the focus is primarily on analyzing legislation, preparing reference materials, handling citizens' appeals, and searching for the necessary information. 'Based on the results of the testing, I plan to assess the effectiveness of various neural networks and determine which technologies can be used in future work,' Gazeta.Ru quotes him as saying. For now, this is a statement of plans: the publication contains no test results or conclusions about specific neural networks.

Context of the AI discussion

Gazeta.Ru's publication places the initiative in the context of recent high-level statements about AI. At a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, moderator Fyodor Lukyanov asked Russian President Vladimir Putin whether he uses neural networks; Putin replied that he 'uses the presidential administration,' which 'uses everything humanity has come up with.' Earlier, on October 1, Putin warned of possible 'digital totalitarianism' as AI develops, noting that experts are watching with alarm how the spread of the technology could lead to depersonalization and a 'common denominator.' In addition, Yampolskaya previously stated that AI poses no threat to talented authors. Thus, Shatunov's test is a practical examination of a technology around which the Russian political field has heard both claims of its usefulness and warnings.