A tech group is launching a new effort to keep Democrats from falling behind on AI
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Voters are already asking artificial intelligence chatbots about candidates, but campaigns don’t yet know what those large language models might say about them or how to shape those answers — one of many AI-fueled campaign challenges a new Democratic-aligned tech group is hoping to solve.
Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on helping Democrats adopt better data and digital marketing techniques, is launching a new initiative called The Lab, aiming to conduct experiments on how Democrats can use AI to win. The group says it is prepared to spend millions partnering with Democratic outside groups in key states and battleground races, with the hopes of helping the party make progress in an area they say it has so far neglected.
“Democrats have shown … they're not willing to try new things. They wait too long and often are at a disadvantage,” said Jessica Alter, board chair at Tech for Campaigns. “With how fast AI is moving, that disadvantage will compound and be very dangerous.”
Campaigns across the political spectrum are grappling with how to take advantage of the rapidly evolving technology. Major Republican groups have embraced AI-generated content for ads more than their Democratic counterparts in the past year, although some Democratic campaigns have used AI imagery. AI-generated ads tend to be less expensive for campaigns, but strategists are still figuring out how voters feel about them — Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate campaign came under fire this week amid online accusations that her latest ad featured an AI-generated crowd image, although her campaign said it “was created through hundreds of hours of real craft and collaboration between creatives and union labor” without commenting on whether AI was also used.
And ads are just one piece of the AI campaign blitz. Groups have rolled out AI initiatives on everything from writing fundraising emails to searching for opposition research.
Tech for Campaigns wants to go beyond those uses. Its plan is to partner with outside groups in key races to fund experiments on different uses of AI. Modeled after a Silicon Valley-style startup accelerator, the group plans to pair campaign groups with tech executives and commercial experts from companies including Netflix and Y Combinator..
Each experiment is expected to take between two weeks and two months and cost between $50,000 and $150,000. Tech for Campaigns is inviting organizations to apply, and is hoping to conduct around 20 experiments this year. The results will be shared among Democrats widely, with the goal of more campaigns replicating tactics that work and avoiding those that don’t.
Among the challenges the group hopes to tackle: Shaping how candidates show up in output from large language models such as ChatGPT, a practice …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Voters are already asking artificial intelligence chatbots about candidates, but campaigns don’t yet know what those large language models might say about them or how to shape those answers — one of many AI-fueled campaign challenges a new Democratic-aligned tech group is hoping to solve.
Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on helping Democrats adopt better data and digital marketing techniques, is launching a new initiative called The Lab, aiming to conduct experiments on how Democrats can use AI to win. The group says it is prepared to spend millions partnering with Democratic outside groups in key states and battleground races, with the hopes of helping the party make progress in an area they say it has so far neglected.
“Democrats have shown … they're not willing to try new things. They wait too long and often are at a disadvantage,” said Jessica Alter, board chair at Tech for Campaigns. “With how fast AI is moving, that disadvantage will compound and be very dangerous.”
Campaigns across the political spectrum are grappling with how to take advantage of the rapidly evolving technology. Major Republican groups have embraced AI-generated content for ads more than their Democratic counterparts in the past year, although some Democratic campaigns have used AI imagery. AI-generated ads tend to be less expensive for campaigns, but strategists are still figuring out how voters feel about them — Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate campaign came under fire this week amid online accusations that her latest ad featured an AI-generated crowd image, although her campaign said it “was created through hundreds of hours of real craft and collaboration between creatives and union labor” without commenting on whether AI was also used.
And ads are just one piece of the AI campaign blitz. Groups have rolled out AI initiatives on everything from writing fundraising emails to searching for opposition research.
Tech for Campaigns wants to go beyond those uses. Its plan is to partner with outside groups in key races to fund experiments on different uses of AI. Modeled after a Silicon Valley-style startup accelerator, the group plans to pair campaign groups with tech executives and commercial experts from companies including Netflix and Y Combinator..
Each experiment is expected to take between two weeks and two months and cost between $50,000 and $150,000. Tech for Campaigns is inviting organizations to apply, and is hoping to conduct around 20 experiments this year. The results will be shared among Democrats widely, with the goal of more campaigns replicating tactics that work and avoiding those that don’t.
Among the challenges the group hopes to tackle: Shaping how candidates show up in output from large language models such as ChatGPT, a practice …
A tech group is launching a new effort to keep Democrats from falling behind on AI
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Voters are already asking artificial intelligence chatbots about candidates, but campaigns don’t yet know what those large language models might say about them or how to shape those answers — one of many AI-fueled campaign challenges a new Democratic-aligned tech group is hoping to solve.
Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on helping Democrats adopt better data and digital marketing techniques, is launching a new initiative called The Lab, aiming to conduct experiments on how Democrats can use AI to win. The group says it is prepared to spend millions partnering with Democratic outside groups in key states and battleground races, with the hopes of helping the party make progress in an area they say it has so far neglected.
“Democrats have shown … they're not willing to try new things. They wait too long and often are at a disadvantage,” said Jessica Alter, board chair at Tech for Campaigns. “With how fast AI is moving, that disadvantage will compound and be very dangerous.”
Campaigns across the political spectrum are grappling with how to take advantage of the rapidly evolving technology. Major Republican groups have embraced AI-generated content for ads more than their Democratic counterparts in the past year, although some Democratic campaigns have used AI imagery. AI-generated ads tend to be less expensive for campaigns, but strategists are still figuring out how voters feel about them — Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate campaign came under fire this week amid online accusations that her latest ad featured an AI-generated crowd image, although her campaign said it “was created through hundreds of hours of real craft and collaboration between creatives and union labor” without commenting on whether AI was also used.
And ads are just one piece of the AI campaign blitz. Groups have rolled out AI initiatives on everything from writing fundraising emails to searching for opposition research.
Tech for Campaigns wants to go beyond those uses. Its plan is to partner with outside groups in key races to fund experiments on different uses of AI. Modeled after a Silicon Valley-style startup accelerator, the group plans to pair campaign groups with tech executives and commercial experts from companies including Netflix and Y Combinator..
Each experiment is expected to take between two weeks and two months and cost between $50,000 and $150,000. Tech for Campaigns is inviting organizations to apply, and is hoping to conduct around 20 experiments this year. The results will be shared among Democrats widely, with the goal of more campaigns replicating tactics that work and avoiding those that don’t.
Among the challenges the group hopes to tackle: Shaping how candidates show up in output from large language models such as ChatGPT, a practice …
