Luanda – Angola’s National Assembly Speaker Carolina Cerqueira on Tuesday, in Livingstone, defended the need to invest in innovation and new technologies, in order to make parliaments more intelligent, inclusive and accountable, responding with greater speed and quality to the wishes of the people.
The leader of the Angolan parliament, was spoking on the second day of the 56th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, said that, in relation to the country, electronic parliamentary governance is a fact in the National Assembly, highlighting the real-time connection between the parliament headquarter in Luanda and the 17 provincial offices.
Carolina Cerqueira said that the technological transition at the level of the Angolan parliament coincided with the proliferation and mass use of social networks and online communication, making it evident that connectivity is not only a matter of access to information, but also a vital means of social and cultural interaction and that it must guarantee the defense and preservation of national sovereignty.
'Practice shows us that it is important to look at technological advances as a mechanism to facilitate our activity and has shortened the participation of citizens and their connection to their representatives via virtual through new technologies, an important instrument for a more scrutinized democracy and the approximation of citizens with their representatives, through the participation of all social segments', Carolina Cerqueira said.
According to the official, as technology has evolved, digital and social inclusion has become a risk in terms of defending and respecting the fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, requiring legislative intervention to mitigate the negative effects of the misuse of new technologies and artificial intelligence, through laws that guide the adoption of inclusive and increasingly comprehensive public policies on the matter, but always within the limits imposed by the Constitution and the law.
Carolina Cerqueira said that artificial intelligence, the internet and other technological innovations are shaping new frontiers for social inclusion, raising complex questions about ethics, privacy and equity, forcing us to rethink the legislative model for the preservation of citizens' fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees.
'But it is still inevitable because we understand that innovation and technologies are not a final destination, but a continuous journey that requires constant adaptation in the face of rapid global technological and social changes,' she reinforced.
The National Assembly of Angola, she said, has entered, since 2017, a process of dematerialization of all legislative activity, and the documentation produced, from laws, resolutions, opinions and reports opinions are sent to deputies through their electronic addresses created at the beginning of the legislature on a laptop assigned free of charge.
'The Angolan parliament uses the audimus software to transcribe audios into texts and this software uses generative artificial intelligence, as it learns as it is fed with new words,' she said.
For Carolina Cerqueira, with the use of audimus, the minutes and the diary of the National Assembly are now produced in less time, avoiding the wear and tear of the editors and also ensuring texts with fewer errors and a quick control of the effectiveness and organization of the work.
He also made known the existence of a virtual library available 24 hours a day for Members of the Parliament, parliamentary staff and citizens in general.
In the same sense, she informed that the Parliamentary Academy was created, which should continuously train on various legislative, administrative and strategic matters on the management and resolution of conflicts at various levels, not only deputies, but also parliamentary officials.
Carolina Cerqueira said that the National Assembly continues to invest in the training of its employees in the use of artificial intelligence, responding to the current challenges of global technological development, in a constant commitment to the use of new technologies and cybersecurity for a more inclusive, more responsible and smarter parliament.
The Angolan delegation to the 56th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, led by President Carolina Cerqueira, is made up of parliamentarians Pedro Sebastião, Ruth Mendes, Teresa Neto and Diamantino Mussokola. ART/DOJ
