This small-town Wyoming election could give us a preview of the future of AI in politics
2024-08-22
Fast Company
The information displayed in the AIM should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries.
Victor Miller ran for Cheyenne, Wyoming mayor promising to let a custom AI chatbot, VIC, govern city decisions while he served as a “meat avatar.” Despite national attention, Miller garnered just 327 of over 11,000 votes and conceded. He then launched the Rational Governance Alliance to advocate AI-led policymaking.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The article clearly involves an AI system (the VIC chatbot) used in a political campaign and intended for governance tasks. While the AI's use in this context is novel and raises significant concerns about regulation, ethics, and potential future harms (such as misinformation, lack of accountability, or governance failures), there is no indication that any harm has yet occurred. The candidate's use of AI in campaigning and governance is ongoing and experimental, with regulatory bodies and the AI provider attempting to intervene. Therefore, this situation represents a plausible future risk rather than a realized harm. It fits the definition of an AI Hazard because the AI system's use could plausibly lead to harms related to governance, democracy, or legal violations, but no direct or indirect harm has been reported yet.[AI generated]