Parla

Parla is a software prototype developed by CityLAB Berlin. It is based on artificial intelligence and enables the searchable access of public administrative documents. More than 10,000 documents from the current legislative term can be accessed more easily, providing comprehensive insight into developments in the city — for administrative staff as well as journalists and citizens.

In a city of millions like Berlin, the range of open questions is broad. What is the Senate doing to promote the integration of refugees and migrants and to strengthen social cohesion? Which educational concepts for schools and childcare facilities address urban gardening? In which projects within the Berlin administration is artificial intelligence currently being used? For many of these questions, answers already exist. The challenge is locating them.

Written Questions are a central instrument of parliamentary democracy. They enable Members of Parliament to request specific information on public measures or the current status of policies. The responses are provided by the government or public authorities and are published as PDF documents on the website of the Berlin House of Representatives.

When information is accessible quickly and easily, more people can participate in political processes and contribute to improving their city. Parla addresses this need.

Parla is based on artificial intelligence and a powerful large language model.

• Users can enter a question in plain language, for example: “How many raccoons are there in Berlin?”

• Parla searches the Written Questions and Main Committee records (“Rote Nummern”) of the Berlin House of Representatives.

• An answer is generated automatically, for example: “In Berlin, experts estimate the population at approximately 1,000 animals.”

• The most relevant document search results are also displayed, accompanied by a notice that the linked sources should be reviewed to obtain a binding and authoritative answer.

Parla is designed as a software prototype that focuses on exploring potential:

• It demonstrates transparently both the opportunities and the limitations of using artificial intelligence in public administration and beyond.

• It is intended not only to facilitate the work of administrative staff, but also to provide associations, chambers, media and civil society organisations with a comprehensive overview of current issues and decisions.

What's next for Parla?

With its launch in January 2024, Parla marks an important step toward transparent and data-driven administrative digitalisation. At its core is simple access — for administrative staff, journalists and citizens alike.

Parla highlights the crucial importance of well-structured, machine-readable data and metadata in public administration. The quality of any AI-generated response depends on the available data foundation. This underlines the need to invest in the development and maintenance of high-quality data infrastructures in order to enable sustainable and reliable digital transformation.

Parla is available for testing at parla.berlin. Since its launch in 2024, the team has received extensive feedback from public administration, civil society and political stakeholders and has derived concrete measures to further improve the quality of generated responses.

Parla is available for testing at parla.berlin.