Overview

• Labour MP Mark Sewards launched AI Mark on August 5 in partnership with local startup Neural Voice to offer nonstop digital access for constituents
• Users must provide an email address and consent to audio recording and data sharing for follow-up, prompting concerns over Neural Voice’s policy of indefinite data retention
• Early trials show the avatar frequently gives vague replies on Sewards’ voting history and local issues, often deferring detailed questions to his office
• Constituent reactions have been mixed, with some welcoming the extended access and others doubting a chatbot’s capacity to replace human representation
• Sewards and Neural Voice are actively retraining the prototype to improve its policy recall as broader interest grows in AI-driven civic engagement tools