Artificial intelligence is integrating into various parts of society, such as education. Now, we must prepare for AI candidates as they run for office in various parts of the world.
Popular Science reported AI chatbots are vying for political office in Belarus, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
READ: AI helps find over 20,000 new materials
The Philippine presidential election will be in 2028. It’s in the distant future, but Filipinos must prepare for the likelihood that AI may become an option in the ballots.
“Who” are these AI candidates?
PopSci shared an unusual political aspirant in the Eastern European country Belarus. The people call him Yas Gaspadar, a “35-year-old from Minsk.”
The news outlet cites a blog post sharing more details about Gaspadar. The article claims Gaspadar is a pro-democracy candidate with policy positions like banning nuclear weapon imports and investing in education.
The AI candidate’s headshot also came from artificial intelligence, depicting Gaspadar as a young, blonde man wearing a dark brown suit and red tie.
Unlike the other AI candidates, Belarus’ choice is a protest symbol Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya created. She leads the country’s anti-authoritarian opposition party.
The next is the United Kingdom’s AI Steve, which is an AI avatar based on British businessman Steve Endacott. Voters can interact with the chatbot regarding its policy positions.
AI Steve’s initial policies mirror those of the Smarter UK party. Also, it says it aims to “revolutionize democracy by involving constituents in policy creation.”
More importantly, the people may recommend their own. Endacott can transcribe and summarize 100,000 separate conversations with voters.
The chatbot uses that information to advocate for specific policies. As a result, this AI model could, in a literal sense, represent the people’s voices.
However, some doubt this candidate as the real Steve Endacott says he will represent the bot in Parliament. He claims he will only be a conduit while the AI makes policy decisions.
Lastly, Wyoming’s capital Cheyenne has the “Virtual Integrated Citizen” (VIC), made by a local library employee named Victor Miller.
He says he built VIC on OpenAI’s GPT-4, and it has an IC of 155. Like AI Steve, Miller says he will only serve as a “meat avatar” for VIC by carrying out its orders.
Why the threat is beyond AI candidates
AI candidates may seem surreal, but many don’t take them seriously. Online comments show locals doubting that their election laws will allow these individuals to take office.
Nevertheless, artificial intelligence is a real, looming threat to democracies worldwide. For example, an Inquirer Tech article reported on a dire warning from Microsoft.
Its April blog claims the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “have started to pose contentious questions on controversial US domestic issues to better understand the key issues that divide US voters.”
Microsoft blames the Chinese-affiliated network Storm 1376 or Spamouflage Dragonbridge for the following misinformation campaigns:
- It claimed the Maui wildfires in August 2023 sparked due to the US government testing a military-grade “weather weapon.”
- Storm 1376 urged audiences to consider whether the US government derailed a train carrying molten sulfur in Kentucky. Also, it compared the incident to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
- The group accused the US of poisoning water supplies from other countries to maintain “water hegemony.” It was supposedly part of a wider campaign to cast doubt on the safe disposal of Japan’s radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean.
Aside from the US elections, the group allegedly targeted Taiwan’s presidential elections in January 2024.
Storm 1376 posted AI-generated fake audio of election candidate Terry Gou endorsing another candidate in the presidential race.
Twenty massive tech corporations recognize the threat. Consequently, they created the “Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections.”
It outlines their eight commitments to beating AI-generated misinformation. Learn more about it in this other Inquirer Tech report.
Microsoft Philippines says the Philippines leads the world when it comes to knowledge workers using generative AI. Asi the country ramps up digitalization, it must prepare for AI candidates in the upcoming 2028 presidential elections.