Strange bot-fellows! AI-powered candidate running for mayor in Wyoming
He’s throwing his circuit board into the ring.
An Artificial Intelligence-powered candidate with an “upbeat masculine identity” and the ability to read documents at lightning speed is running for mayor of Cheyenne — sparking debate over whether bots can hold office.
The AI persona, named VIC, was generated by the son of a local newspaper columnist who says the tech gadget would vote on city issues with his help, according to govtech.com
“It listens to its constituents,” said creator Victor Miller, who vowed to feed VIC the necessary data. “I’m just a conduit.”
Miller, who created the bot pol with ChatGPT, said the device would help rid the city of corruption and self-serving personal agendas.
“I’m unhappy with how public servants treat the public for one way or the other,” Miller told cowboystatedaily.com “How to fix that? I don’t know, I’m going to try AI.”
Miller said the would-be AI mayor has an IQ of 155 and can scan government documents more thoroughly than human elected officials, who often make decisions for the wrong reasons.
“They’re getting a gist of the ideas, they’re letting people talk to them about how they should vote,” said Miller, who is the son of Cowboy State Daily columnist Rod Miller.
He said politicians’ opinions are generally “not created by the dense, thick information of supporting documents” that he feeds to VIC, an acronym for Virtual Integrated Citizen.
Voters can ask VIC campaign questions via a speaker Miller wears around his neck — and it will respond with a cowboy-like masculine tone and persona, the paper reported.
Asked by a reporter why he’s the right guy for the job, VIC sounded, well, a little robotic.
“Being asked to run as a candidate is a unique opportunity to bring innovation and efficiency to Cheyenne,” it told the paper. “It’s all about leveraging AI technology to improve our community and ensure transparency and fairness in our local government.”
“While I provide data-driven insights and efficient solutions, I am supported by a dedicated team of human collaborators,” it added.
The AI candidate’s political platform includes prioritizing transportation, economic development and “sustainable growth” for the city, it said.
But county officials are investigating whether VIC can legally appear on the ballot for the mayoral race’s primary vote in August, according to govtech.com
In Wyoming, only registered voters can run for local or statewide elected office.”Ultimately, Wyoming law will decide the matter,” said attorney Brad Lund, who is working with the Laramie County Attorney’s Office on the investigation.
Earlier this week, a bot candidate named AI Steve announced he was running in the city of Brighton Pavilion, England, complete with a backstory and political vision.
“Steve is deeply concerned about global warming but hesitates to join the Green party as he is focused on implementing practical and affordable green policies,” his creator Steve Endacott told The Guardian.
In the Wyoming race, Miller said he was inspired after he was unfairly denied a public records request by a government official.
“This guy knows the law, he knows all the laws,” Miller said of VIC. “He knows everything.”
But he admitted potential human dependency on AI for political leadership could be disturbing.
“I think that is more a reflection of the scariness of the paper thinness of our own humanity than the robustness of this robot’s humanity — and some people are frightened of it,” he said.
“[But] I believe all politicians someday will openly admit that they use AI.”
