The government has unveiled plans to introduce artificial intelligence candidates in uncontested elections this year to ensure islanders always have a choice at the ballot box.
Under the proposals, “Al Gorithm” would automatically be included on the ballot paper in any parish or constituency that only has one – or no – candidates putting themselves forward.
According to a policy paper released today, the virtual candidates will be trained on decades of States debates, propositions, and strongly worded Facebook comments, enabling them to generate manifestos and answer policy questions.
It is part of a bid to promote political engagement, after voter turnout in the island’s most recent elections (41.6% in June 2022) was among the lowest in the world.
Voters will be able to interact directly with the AI candidates through a chatbot interface, enabling them to receive instant responses to local concerns.
Express understands that holographic hustings are also under consideration.
Early testing has reportedly been promising, although one prototype had to be temporarily shut down after promising to meet every constituent personally within 48 hours.
AI candidates will be prohibited from forming political parties, accepting donations, or developing “ambitions beyond their initial programming,” after a test version reportedly hatched a plan to invade Guernsey.
Consultant Olaf Pirol, who advised on the project, said the technology had been carefully designed to reflect Jersey’s political culture.
“We’ve trained Al Gorithm to speak at length, commit to further consultation, and ultimately refer the matter to review before taking no immediate action,” she said.
“In extensive testing, it has already mastered the phrase: ‘This is something we are actively looking into.’
“Importantly, the AI has also been calibrated to avoid giving a straight yes or no unless absolutely necessary.”