Story Highlight
– AI chatbot launched as first MP variant for Leeds.
– Sewardsbot struggles with regional Yorkshire dialect and accents.
– Records conversations to identify key topics for constituents.
– Misinterprets colloquialisms and common local phrases frequently.
– Incorrectly redirects issues to police instead of council.
Full Story
A new digital assistant has been introduced in the Leeds South West and Morley constituency, designed to respond to residents using artificial intelligence in the voice of their local MP, Mark Sewards. The chatbot, referred to as Sewardsbot, aims to assist constituents by providing advice and responding to inquiries, albeit with a notable limitation: its effectiveness is hampered by the regional accents of users.
Developed by a local startup, this innovative service features a cartoon representation of Sewards that attempts to engage with residents. However, initial interactions highlight the challenges faced by voice recognition technology in understanding common local dialects and expressions.
To test Sewardsbot’s capabilities, a contributor from nearby assessed its understanding during a conversation. Upon greeting the chatbot, which announces, “Hi. I’m AI Mark Sewards, Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley, can I help you today?”, they used a regional salutation, only to find that the bot struggled to accurately interpret it.
One key feature of this AI assistant is its ability to track conversations, enabling Sewards’ team to identify prevalent topics among constituents. However, this capability has drawn some criticism regarding privacy and data handling.
Directing the conversation towards a pressing issue, the user inquired about the situation in Gaza. While the bot successfully identified the main subject, it did not elaborate on the government’s stance, which could be seen as a limitation in providing comprehensive constituents’ support. The website accompanying the chatbot contains a disclaimer stating: “AI Mark is a prototype digital assistant – this is a work in progress and not everything it says should be taken as fact. All responses are AI-generated.”
Attempts to introduce local vernacular were met with mixed results; some phrases became garbled beyond recognition. For example, a request relating to a neighbor’s blocked alleyway and an abandoned settee was misinterpreted, with Sewardsbot incorrectly suggesting contacting the police instead of local council services for flytipping concerns.
While the AI may alleviate some workload for the MP’s human aides, its current limitations suggest that it may not yet be a fully reliable stand-in for direct human interaction, especially when dealing with constituents’ specific issues.
