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The European Parliament’s answer to its AI worries: More AI

The institution is opening its doors to models from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Mistral as it tries to bring lawmakers’ growing use of the technology under control.

By MAX GRIERA

in Brussels

Illustration by Natália Delgado/ POLITICO

As MEPs and their assistants increasingly turn to artificial intelligence to draft speeches, parliamentary questions and even amendments, the European Parliament is seeking to bring that use under control with an officially sanctioned platform of its own.

The internal platform, known as EPGenAI Hub, will give lawmakers and staff access to models from Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic and France’s Mistral, offering what Parliament hopes will be a safer alternative to the public AI tools already being used for legislative work. The new platform is currently being tested and could begin rolling out as early as September, according to two people familiar with the plans, granted anonymity to discuss the internal strategy.

The plans come as concern rises inside the institution over the spread of AI-generated parliamentary material. At a meeting earlier in July, several committee chairs voiced alarm that a growing number of MEPs and their assistants were using AI to draft amendments and support other legislative work, according to three people familiar with the discussion.

“Parliament has not been immune to AI slop and misleading AI-generated content,” said Brando Benifei, the Socialists and Democrats lawmaker who led Parliament’s work on the AI Act, the EU’s landmark law governing the technology. “MEPs must lead by example as the AI Act’s transparency rules become applicable.”

The project captures the dilemma facing Parliament as generative AI becomes embedded in its daily work. Around 2,100 people use AI daily in the Parliament — around 20 percent of all staff.

Its leaders want officials to stop feeding parliamentary material into uncontrolled public platforms, but they are also concerned that the technology is degrading the quality of legislative work and introducing errors or misleading content into the democratic process. Their suspicions that lawmakers and assistants are already relying on AI have been fueled by a surge in amendments requiring translation, telltale drafting styles and occasional hallucinated references to laws that do not exist.

Committee chairs asked Parliament Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti to draw up guidelines for lawmakers’ use of AI. He replied that the matter might instead fall to the Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, which would need to amend the institution’s rules of procedure to introduce stricter rules.

MEPs are currently under no obligation to disclose whether amendments, questions or other parliamentary work were produced with the help of artificial intelligence.

Irish Renew lawmaker Barry Andrews, who chairs the Parliament’s development committee, said it was already clear that some MEPs were using AI to draft parliamentary questions, speeches and amendments.

“That is their choice and I fully understand given our workload,” Andrews said. “But for me personally, these are core democratic functions which voters elected us to perform.”

Parliamentary employees are subject to separate internal guidelines on using AI, obtained by POLITICO , although the April 2024 rules are already due to be redrafted. The rules require staff to label AI-generated work with an “AI-assisted” disclaimer and prohibit them from entering sensitive information into public generative AI systems.

The guidelines also warn that inaccuracies produced by the technology risk creating or spreading misleading information or material that misrepresents the Parliament.

The new platform

EPGenAI Hub has already been presented to MEPs and staff at workshops, including one on Tuesday that promised to demonstrate “practical, everyday applications that will help you work smarter and faster,” according to an email seen by POLITICO.

A beta version reviewed by POLITICO allows users to choose between models operated securely within Parliament’s own infrastructure and more powerful services hosted externally.

The locally operated options include Meta’s Llama, OpenAI’s GPT-OSS and Mistral Small. Users can also access externally hosted models including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet.

The rollout will also open the institution further to American AI companies, even as Brussels pursues a parallel effort to reduce the bloc’s dependence on U.S. technology.

That sits uneasily with the Parliament’s own drive for greater digital sovereignty. In recent months, the institution has replaced Google with the French search engine Qwant and disabled built-in AI features on MEPs’ tablets over cybersecurity and data-protection concerns.

The Parliament’s press service said that the AI models offered may change in the coming months.

“The model offerings are undergoing revision, especially in light of availability of open-source and EU sovereign models from sovereign cloud providers recently contracted by the European Commission,” the service said.

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The latest episode of X-Men '97 finally seemed to turn the spotlight on Wolverine ( Cal Dodd )...or so it seemed. While "Weapon X, Lies, and DVD's" saw the clawed Canadian finally regaining his Adamantium skeleton and fighting off the alien Brood , much of the focus was on Morph ( J.P. Karliak ) and their friendship with Wolverine. As a result, arguments have cropped up online over whether X-Men '97 is purposefully sidelining Wolverine, which is rather ironic given that most fans wished for years that other members of the X-Men would get a focus in movies and TV. "Weapon X, Lies, and DVD's" also features a nod to a fan-favorite character that could potentially take up Wolverine 's mantle .

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The car was sold to Nick Mason in 1999 after a short racing career in Europe.

In 2017, Mason crashed the car at Goodwood, but it was quickly repaired.

The McLaren has been meticulously maintained by Lanzante over the years.

Next month, one of the world’s most valuable McLaren F1s heads to auction. Owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and believed to be worth north of $35 million, it will almost certainly become the most valuable F1 ever sold in a public sale. That’s a high bar, given what these cars already command, but this one has the pedigree to clear it.

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Watch: Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason Crashes His McLaren F1 GTR

Known as ‘The Pop Art F1,’ this is chassis 10R, the first example built to GTR specification for the 1996 racing season. It arrived a year after another F1 GTR, chassis 01R, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it set out to follow that car’s lead into competition.

Alex Penfold/RM Sotheby’s

After testing and some promotional campaigns, this F1 GTR , finished in a resplendent shade of Blood Red, participated in Pre-Qualifying for Le Mans, driven by David Brabham. It didn’t end up racing at Le Mans that year; instead, sister car chassis 11R was used by the McLaren team.

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McLaren initially retained the car, but in 1999 it was sold to Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason for an undisclosed sum. The company converted it for road use, and Lanzante handled further work down the line.

An F1 With A Checkered Past

Alex Penfold/RM Sotheby’s

As with plenty of other F1s, this one has also endured some rough days. In 2009, a journalist crashed it into a wheat field, prompting a full restoration and repair from Lanzante. It would go on to participate in several motorsport events across Europe, including a 750 km (466 miles) road rally through Italy, and the Goodwood Members’ Meeting in 2017. Sadly, while Mason was behind the wheel of it, he lost control and slammed into a tire wall.

Once again, Lanzante was called in to repair the car, returning it to its former glory. Mason remains the car’s one and only private owner since it was built, and it’s been routinely serviced, ensuring it’s in pristine condition.

Two wrecks, one wheat field, and it still clears $35 million. Turns out an F1 GTR forgives almost anything. Have a look at the listing over at RM Sotheby’s , then quietly weep into your savings account.

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Alex Penfold/RM Sotheby’s

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Beloved toys around the world, teddy bears are icons of childhood wonder. These plush effigies put soft paws and friendly faces on one of nature's most dangerous creatures. Normally, they're tiny, confined to bedrooms and car backseats — except in Stillwater. The 'Birthplace of Minnesota' houses a park bristling with some of the only teddy bears in the world that are larger than their animal namesakes.

The park, a five-million-dollar investment featuring over half a dozen teddy bear statues that range in height from two to over ten feet tall, was given to the city as a completely anonymous gift in the mid-2000s. The identities of the benefactors have since been revealed: former Dell executive Tom Armstrong and his wife, who also committed millions of dollars to other local parks. The resolution of that mystery has robbed the park of none of its magic, however.

The person-sized teddy bears are posed enjoying the other amenities of the park, such as the amphitheater and some of the rides. The park also features a two-story building available as an event venue, a playground area with a miniature of the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge, a climbing wall, and more.

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Halloween might seem like a long way away, but it's never too early to start getting ready, and if you're anything like me, then you can't wait for the weather to start getting cooler, with crisp leaves underfoot and misty mornings. It seems the designers at IKEA agree, because they've already launched a whole set of Kustfyr Halloween decor so you can start preparing for spooky season now.

The new seasonal lights are particularly cute, and I defy anyone not to be charmed by the adorably spooky LED ghost table lamp with its arms raised mid-scare. Pair it with a set of ghostly battery-powered LED string lights for a full themed room.

It wouldn't be Halloween without pumpkins, and you can avoid the mess and hassle of carving a real gourd by picking up one of IKEA's fun pumpkin lamps. The globe-shaped LED pumpkin table lamp is a cute classic, while the matching battery-powered pendant lamp is safe to use outdoors, so you can hang it on your porch when it's time for trick-or-treating.

Want more creepy ways to decorate your home? Check out the full Kustfyr collection , which includes everything from plushies to plates.

Adorably spooky Halloween lights

IKEA

Kustfyr Battery LED Table Lamp - Ghost

IKEA

Kustfyr LED Table Lamp - Pumpkin

IKEA

Kustfyr Battery Pendant Lamp - Pumpkin

IKEA

Kustfyr Lantern for Pillar Candle - Black

IKEA

Kustfyr Battery LED Table Decoration - Pumpkin

IKEA

Kustfyr LED Lighting Chain With 32 Lights - Ghost

IKEA

Kustfyr LED String Light With 12 Lights - Ghost

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China's leading technology companies showcased hundreds of cutting-edge products at the World AI Conference in Shanghai — from advanced robotics to artificial intelligence systems.

The nation's annual flagship AI event, which was held from July 17 to 20, took place against the backdrop of a heated U.S.-China tech rivalry. More than 1,100 companies participated.

Chinese companies have developed more than 400 humanoid robot products, more than half the world’s total, state media said. Open-source AI models from China are increasingly challenging leading American ones as they are more widely adopted globally.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.