Some Kansas lawmakers use AI chatbots in statehouse – no guidelines for responsible use – Lawrence Times

Kansas News Service interviewed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the use of AI chatbots in the legislative process. There are no restrictions for MPs using ChatGPT, Claude, or other services.

Topeka — At a committee meeting in February, Republican Rep. Sean Wilcott of Holton told his fellow senators that he used artificial intelligence to write some of his remarks on the meeting’s topic: artificial intelligence.

“I use AI regularly,” Wilcott says. “We used AI to create some of these components.”

Wilcott is not the only lawmaker to use AI chatbots for state legislative affairs. As technology advances and the pace of Congress becomes increasingly fast-paced, Kansas lawmakers are increasingly using chatbots to respond.

Kansas News Service interviewed several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the use of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot during the legislative process.

Some said they used chatbots to summarize bills ahead of public hearings and votes. Others say the tool has helped them quickly provide background information on issues they don’t understand.

But the Kansas Legislature still doesn’t have clear guidelines on how or should AI chatbots be used in day-to-day operations. There are no rules against lawmakers using bots to respond to constituent emails or write press releases.

Even avid adopters like Willcott say relying too much on AI is dangerous.

“I think this is a tool that can be used very effectively to increase efficiency. What I’m concerned about is people’s understanding of its limitations,” Wilcott said in a recent interview.

“Just because something sounds very intelligent and gives you an answer doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right answer,” he says.

How is AI used?

Republican Rep. Nick Hoheisel of Wichita said he began tinkering with the technology for legislative use when ChatGPT began to gain popularity in 2023.

“We can put some language in the bill, and we can see what language other states have on the books,” he said.

Hoheisel also supports some of the proposals. Regulation of AI in Kansaslike law A bill was passed last year that criminalizes the creation, possession, and distribution of child sexual abuse materials created by AI.

In this session, Mr. Hoheisel introduced: invoice It would create a task force to study AI and make recommendations to the state Legislature. But he said the bill will not advance this session and that more time is needed to decide who will serve on the task force.

Hoheisel said the tool has caused him to suffer from hallucinations (false information made up entirely by chatbots), especially when dealing with case law. He said the onus was on individual MPs to use the tools responsibly.

“I highly recommend double- and triple-checking your work,” he says.

Meanwhile, Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton is not shy about how skeptical she is of AI chatbots and their role in the state Legislature.

“As a legislative purist here, I decided to read the testimony with my own eyes and use my own head-drawn inferences to ask questions and determine what the bill would or would not do,” the Overland Park lawmaker said.

Sawyer-Clayton said legislative staff will be there to perform some of the tasks that lawmakers currently delegate to AI, particularly summaries and quick searches for data points.

Several lawmakers said the pace of the game at the Capitol was a factor in AI adoption. During a particularly tense week in February, the state Legislature voted on 113 bills in two days.

Sawyer Clayton said leaders are rushing the process because Fundraising restrictions For offices throughout the state during session.

“We’re going through this session at a dangerously high speed,” Sawyer-Clayton said. “Inevitably, I think a lot of people are turning to these chatbots and chat tools for legislation because they don’t have any other options.”

The issue, at least for now, is not partisan. Rep. Louis Hsu, R-Westwood, a fellow Democrat, said AI is quietly becoming part of daily life at the state Capitol.

“I don’t want to be a purist on this issue,” he said, stressing that lawmakers must remain vigilant against bias and factual errors. “I think it’s an effective tool, so I don’t think it should be banned.”

“There’s a lot of work to do.”

At the same time that AI chatbots were skyrocketing in popularity, the Kansas Legislature was waiting to overhaul its digital bill tracking system.

Modernization efforts take years and delays bipartisan dissatisfaction.

Altaf Uddin, chief information technology officer for the Kansas State Legislature, said there are no immediate plans to incorporate AI into the overhaul, despite calls for faster, more seamless software to track bills, amendments and resolutions.

“I think there is definitely room for AI in the future,” he said in an interview. “But we’re not there yet.”

state government agency Iowa, California, Utah It already has an AI-powered system in place to track invoices. And on a personal level, Uddin said chatbots could help speed up investigations on the floor.

But at the organizational level, Uddin remains reluctant to rely on probability-based answers to questions that require high levels of precision. He stressed that AI will not be involved in drafting bills or amendments, or at least not for the time being.

“Deleting ‘not’ or adding ‘negate’ could actually change the interpretation of that bill,” he said.

“I think there’s a lot of work to be done until we’re confident that the probabilistic models and inferences are extremely accurate,” Uddin said.

Zane Irwin reports on politics, elections and elections for Kansas News Service. Email zaneirwin@kcur.org.

Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW, and High Plains Public Radio.

Kansas News Agency articles and photos may be republished at no charge by news outlets with proper attribution and linking. ksnewsservice.org.

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