Leveraging automated technologies for law-making in Italy: Generative AI and constitutional challenges

Abstract As GenAI use intensifies, it is necessary to start reflecting on how AI might affect parliamentary work. The paper describes the paradigmatic case of the Italian Chamber of Deputies as one of the first parliaments to implement GenAI technologies in the legislative procedure. The goal of the research is to identify the constitutional challenges and seek remedies to them. The integration of information technology into daily parliamentary activities intersects with the democratic underpinnings of political representation, such as neutrality, transparency, and political legitimacy. At the same time, digitization affects the invisible dimension of parliamentary work, which goes beyond codified rules of procedures and remains confidential. Still, it is crucial for the smooth functioning of parliamentary assemblies. The remainder of this paper is structured into four sections. After a brief explanation of how GenAI works, it describes why parliaments have to be dealt with distinctively and what the current AI practices embraced by the Italian Parliament are. It provides an in-depth insight into the functioning of software used for processing amendments in the legislative procedure. In the end, it assesses the existing practices from a constitutional standpoint.