The AI clones are coming! But it's not all bad

MARK SEWARDS, a British Member of Parliament in the northern city of Leeds, recently launched what he called the country's first artificial intelligence (AI) prototype of an MP.

- MARK SEWARDS

Cue the backlash. X users were the most vitriolic, calling Sewards "lazy" and branding the project "appalling." The press sneered at his "weird" and "dithering" chatbot, complaining it couldn't follow a Leeds accent.

Then again, most politicians dodge questions with robotic answers, and many wouldn't make out the heavy twang of Northern England. "Me neighbour's lad's blocked the ginnel at the back with an old settee and he won't do anything about it," a Guardian journalist asked Sewards' bot at one point. The AI suggested they call the police to report an abandoned vehicle, which was a better answer than I would have given.

The 35-year-old Labour MP is a pioneer in using AI to squeeze more out of their job. More people are using AI to create digital replicas of themselves and conduct their work at a greater scale. Right-wing influencer Dave Rubin even has an AI clone presenting his YouTube show while he's on vacation this month.