On October 15th, 2025, Bússola Tech hosted a high-level panel discussion titled “Data Governance in Parliaments – Preparing Parliamentary Data for AI Integration.” The session gathered parliamentary officials and specialists to explore how legislatures can structure and govern their data for safe and effective integration with artificial intelligence.

Moderated by Mr. Luís Kimaid, Executive Director of Bússola Tech, the panel featured Mr. Grant Vergottini, CEO of Xcential Legislative Technologies (United States); Mr. Günther Schefbeck, Head of Research at the Parliament of Austria; Mr. João Lima, Legislative IT Analyst at the Senado Federal of Brazil; and Mr. Prince Moinina Kenneh, AI Desk Officer at the Parliament of Sierra Leone.

The discussion opened with a round of introductions in which participants described their work and institutional perspectives on legislative data management. The first debate addressed the fundamental principles required to prepare parliamentary data for AI integration. The speakers highlighted how legislative data is often highly structured, yet varies in quality and accessibility when drawn from external sources. The importance of metadata, consistency, and semantic organization was underscored as essential for ensuring reliability and machine processability.

The second segment focused on how parliaments can connect data distributed across multiple domains and systems. Participants shared practical experiences from their institutions, including initiatives to unify legal and procedural data, integrate retrieval systems, and harmonize governance structures. The conversation emphasized the value of interoperability, standard formats, and relational databases to ensure that AI tools can access and interpret legislative information with contextual precision.

The panel then examined the role of XML standards and data modeling in supporting AI-ready legislative environments. Speakers reflected on the continued relevance of established standards such as Akoma Ntoso and LegalDocML, while also discussing emerging approaches to link data semantically and preserve authenticity across systems.

In the final discussion, participants agreed that strong data governance frameworks depend on people as much as on technology. They stressed the need for developing expertise in both legislative drafting and technical domains, promoting training in data literacy, XML, ontology, and AI ethics. The debate concluded with reflections on collaboration between parliaments, think tanks, and international partners to advance modernization and ensure AI adoption aligns with institutional independence and transparency.

The session reaffirmed that preparing parliamentary data for AI integration requires structure, interoperability, and a professional culture committed to accuracy, accountability, and innovation.