Congressional candidate’s voter outreach tool is latest AI experiment ahead of 2024 elections

A phone-banking tool powered entirely by artificial intelligence is getting its first real-world test in a Pennsylvania Democrat’s congressional campaign. In a conversation about snacks, it said Cheetos were “known for being both delicious and health-conscious.” That’s an example of an AI “ hallucination ” — a problem with still-evolving generative AI technology in which large language models tend to make statements that sound convincing but are false or made up. “The guidance I’ve offered and seen from most people is that they are steering away from AI personalities when it comes to politics and campaigns this cycle,” said Betsy Hoover, a founding partner at the progressive tech accelerator and venture capital firm Higher Ground Labs. “Right now, that large language model knows sensitive voter information and knows the voters’ responses to it,” Nellis said. “I don’t know how safe and secure that is.” Mouzykantskii said Civox protects voter information in line with “political campaign, technology, industry standards” and added that he encourages regulators to pay attention to these emerging tools and set stronger guidelines for them.