Global AI and Democracy Watch: UAE's AI-Powered Legislative Office: An Experiment Worth Watching

Together with Bussola Tech in Brazil, I shared the results of an in-depth interview with the head of citizen services for the Brazilian Senate, showcasing how that legislature is turning to the use of AI to enhance four unique forms of institutionalized citizen engagement in lawmaking. This builds on earlier work we’ve done at the GovLab on crowd.law and the practice of using technology to enhance citizen engagement in lawmaking globally. 

Now, the UAE Cabinet just announced that it approved the establishment of what they're calling the world's first "Legislative Intelligence Office" - an initiative that aims to transform lawmaking through artificial intelligence. 

According to the Emirates News Agency, this system will integrate federal and local legislation, judicial rulings, executive procedures, and public services to create a "continuously updated legislative framework."

While not the first AI in lawmaking effort, the advertised ambitions are substantial: real-time analysis of economic and social impacts, proactive amendment proposals, and benchmarking against international practices. The UAE asserts this platform will accelerate their lawmaking process by up to 70 percent.

Promise and Potential

There's something genuinely intriguing about this experiment. Legislative bodies worldwide struggle with information overload, keeping track of existing laws, and understanding complex policy impacts. A well-designed AI system could potentially:

• Identify contradictions or overlaps in existing legislation

• Surface relevant precedents and international standards

• Model potential social and economic impacts of proposed laws

• Improve accessibility of legal information for citizens

The creation of new AI-enabled roles like "legislative researchers" and "legislative monitors" suggests they're at least considering how humans and AI might work together in this system.

Critical Questions

However, we should approach these claims with healthy skepticism:

Governance transparency: Who controls this system? How are its algorithms designed and by whom? In a country with limited democratic processes, will this system primarily serve the interests of existing power structures?

Quality of inputs: AI systems are only as good as their training data. Will this system incorporate diverse perspectives or primarily reflect established viewpoints?

Deliberative shortcomings: Lawmaking isn't just information processing - it's also a deliberative process that builds legitimacy through debate, compromise, and public participation. Will an efficiency-focused approach preserve these crucial democratic elements? Will crowdlaw feature in their plans?

Accountability mechanisms: What happens when the AI system makes recommendations that are harmful to minority groups or civil liberties? Who is accountable? What happens when the AI hallucinates?

A Global Test Case?

The UAE's experiment deserves our attention. As legislatures worldwide struggle to keep pace with technological and social change, we need innovative approaches to lawmaking.

The results of this initiative could inform democratic governments about both the potential and pitfalls of AI in legislative processes. What works, what doesn't, and what safeguards are essential when integrating these technologies into democratic institutions?

Measuring Real Success

For this experiment to demonstrate genuine value beyond mere efficiency gains, we should look for evidence that it:

• Increases legislative quality – reducing unintended consequences and implementation problems
• Enhances transparency – making legislation more accessible and understandable to citizens
• Improves responsiveness – helping address emerging issues more quickly while maintaining thoroughness
• Supports meaningful human judgment – augmenting rather than replacing the critical evaluative role of lawmakers

Efficiency alone (the promised "70 percent acceleration") is an insufficient metric if it comes at the expense of deliberation, inclusion, or quality. The true test will be whether this system helps produce better laws, not just faster ones.

I'll be watching the implementation closely, looking particularly at: what metrics they use to evaluate success, how they balance efficiency with deliberation, and what role remains for citizen input in this AI-enhanced process.