As 2024 draws to a close, its instructive to take stock of how democracy did.
The dreaded death of truth has not materialized at least, not due to AI.
And candidates are eagerly adopting AI in many places where it can be constructive, if used responsibly.
© Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Even when politicians themselves arent speaking through AI, their constituents might be using it to listen to them.
Other candidates used AIs conversational capabilities to connect with voters.
U.S. politiciansAsa Hutchinson,Dean PhillipsandFrancis Suarezdeployed chatbots of themselves in their presidential primary campaigns.
‘AI Steve’ was an AI persona who ran for office in the 2024 U.K. election.
Nuts and bolts
AIs have been used in political fundraising as well.
Companies likeQuillerandTech for Campaignsmarket AIs to help draft fundraising emails.
Other AI systems help candidatestarget particular donorswithpersonalized messages.
Polling has been highly mathematical for decades, and pollsters are constantly incorporating new technologies into their processes.
In Argentina in 2023, both major presidential candidatesused AIto develop campaign posters, videos and other materials.
In 2024, similar capabilities were almost certainly used in a variety of elections around the world.
In the U.S., for example, a Georgia politicianused AIto produce blog posts, campaign images and podcasts.
Other AI systems helpadvise candidateslooking to run for higher office.
Days before a Slovakian election in 2023,fake audiodiscussing election manipulation went viral.
AI also played a role in protecting the information ecosystem.
One thing that didnt matter much in 2024 was corporate AI developers prohibitions on using their tools for politics.
The genie is loose
All of these trends both good and bad are likely to continue.
As AI gets more powerful and capable, it is likely to infiltrate every aspect of politics.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Two banks say Amazon has paused negotiations on some international data centers.
