In April 2021, the Committee for the Future of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) organised an extraordinary hearing, that is, of an artificial intelligence (AI). While some legislatures and research groups had already begun to study the implication of AI in the parliamentary domain, this took the parliamentary world by surprise. It was the first time a parliament has directly interacted with an AI system in an actual parliamentary process. This research note attempts to conduct a preliminary analysis on the experiment and discusses its implications for future actions in the development of parliamentary tools and services using AI-based technologies. Analysis is dedicated to intra-parliamentary workspace, while considering possible effects on the main functions of parliament such as law-making and oversight. The note aims to spark the discussion around the implementation strategy, but also for the regulation of such systems in the parliamentary environment.

Societies are entering the age of technological disruption, which also impacts governance institutions such as parliamentary organizations. Thus, parliaments need to adjust swiftly by incorporating innovative methods into their organizational culture and novel technologies into their working procedures. Inter-Parliamentary Union World e-Parliament Reports capture digital transformation trends towards open data production, standardized and knowledge-driven business processes, and the implementation of inclusive and participatory schemes. Nevertheless, there is still a limited consensus on how these trends will materialize into specific tools, products, and services, with added value for parliamentary and societal stakeholders. This article outlines the rapid evolution of the digital parliament from the user perspective. In doing so, it describes a transformational framework based on the evaluation of empirical data by an expert survey of parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. Basic sets of tools and technologies that are perceived as vital for future parliamentary use by intra-parliamentary stakeholders, such as systems and processes for information and knowledge sharing, are analyzed. Moreover, boundary conditions for development and implementation of parliamentary technologies are set and highlighted. Concluding recommendations regarding the expected investments, interdisciplinary research, and cross-sector collaboration within the defined framework are presented.

The microstructure and interfaces of SrTiO3 thin films directly deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on silicon (001) substrates were investigated by means of Bragg-diffraction contrast and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The observation of the plan-view specimens showed that the SrTiO3 films are polycrystalline with randomly oriented grains. An amorphous layer was observed at the interfaces between the films and the substrates. The growth kinetics of this amorphous layer was investigated in detail. The thickness showed a rapid initial increase, which is much faster than the corresponding growth of amorphous SiO2 in the absence of precursors, and apparently approaches saturation after a short time. The thickness of the interfacial layer increases with the oxygen partial pressure during deposition and a reduction to a value acceptable for gate-oxide applications has been achieved for the minimum pressure given by the oxygen content of the present precursors. However, this comes at the cost of a dramatic increase of the carbon content of the film.

We report on the performance of a planetary multi-wafer reactor offering extremely high throughput due to the batch mode processing and a low cost of ownership. This reactor is combined with a liquid delivery system which mixes the liquid precursors from three different sources: 0.35 molar solutions of Ba(thd)₂ and Sr(thd)₂ and a 0.4 molar solution of Ti(O-iPr)₂(thd)₂. The composition and microstructure of the films were routinely investigated by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis. As a direct consequence of the reactor design we obtain high efficiencies for the precursor incorporation in the order of 40%. Furthermore, we obtain a high uniformity of the films over 6 inch wafers. Details of the chemistry and microstructure were investigated by secondary neutral mass spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The electrical film properties are discussed in relation to microstructural properties.