Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has addressed speculation about using AI to prepare for debates against former President Donald Trump.
The Harris-Walz campaign confirmed to Semafor.com that they will not employ an AI-generated version of Trump, for debate preparation, opting instead for traditional human stand-ins.
This clarification comes in the wake of revelations that tech companies have been actively pitching AI-related products to political campaigns across the country. According to a New York Times podcast, one such company approached the Biden campaign with a proposal to create an AI version of Trump for debate practice.
“One of the companies I talked to had actually pitched the Biden campaign on creating an AI version of Trump, and having Biden practice debating him so that he could be ready for the debates,” reported the podcast host.
What would an AI-generated version of a political figure look like? One example is Vic or Virtual Integrated Citizen, a custom ChatGPT bot created by Victor Miller, a mayoral candidate for Cheyenne, Wyoming.
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Miller filed for both himself and the custom chatbot to run jointly as candidate. However, in the final tally of 11,036 votes, Vic and Victor only got 327 votes.
When it comes to using AI for debate preparation, the Harris campaign is treading cautiously. “Currently, the only authorized campaign use of generative AI is productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistants,” Harris-Walz spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told Semafor.
This cautious approach aligns with findings from a recent report by the Center for Media Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. The study, Political Machines: Understanding the Role of Generative AI in the U.S. 2024 Elections and Beyond, suggests that while AI has accelerated data analysis and content generation in political marketing, many campaigns remain wary of its more advanced applications.
However, the report also indicates that some political professionals see potential in AI’s ability to enhance targeted messaging and fundraising efforts.
“Right now, a lot of people don’t even use A/B testing on subject lines because by the time the results come in from the A/B test, the relevance of the topic has passed,” one political AI vendor interviewed for the study.
A/B testing is a method of comparing several examples of a single variable, so it would test somebody’s response to variant A against variant B, and find which is more effective, A or B.
Despite the Harris campaign’s current stance, experts anticipate increased interest in AI tools as the election season progresses.
“I do expect, over the summer, some of these new AI political companies that have been founded in the last six months are going to go to the Kamala campaign and see if she wants to work with them,” predicted the New York Times podcast.
