CHICAGO — An AI-enhanced former congressman is hitting the Chicago airwaves.
As he campaigns to reclaim the South Side congressional seat he once held, Jesse Jackson Jr. is launching a new TV and digital ad featuring an endorsement from fellow former Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush — delivered with an assist from artificial intelligence.
The spot, set to begin airing today in the race, initially shows Rush speaking in his actual voice, weakened from a battle with throat cancer.
“Cancer damaged my vocal cords. It didn’t take away my voice,” Rush says in the ad.
He then continues speaking in a restored version of the voice he had decades ago.
“I want to tell you why I believe in Jesse Jackson Jr.,” says Rush, the longtime Chicago congressman who pushed Jackson to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat, using the enhanced voice to deliver a testimonial about Jackson’s record.
Rush, who has become familiar with AI technology’s ability to restore his voice for podcasting and broadcast interviews, said he recognizes there are concerns that it can be misused in political campaigns. But in this case, he said in an interview, “It’s being used in a positive way. It’s being used for the right reasons.”
The ad from Jackson’s campaign comes as two dueling political action committees with links to major AI companies circle the race.
Jackson is receiving support from a pro-industry super PAC, Leading the Future, which has poured money into advertising on his behalf and counts venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman among its backers.
A spokesperson for Jackson’s campaign said the ad with Rush had been in the works for months, before the AI-backed group got involved in the race.
“Integration of AI in this spot puts a spotlight on how much they believe in each other,” according to spokesperson John Digles.
A rival super PAC, Jobs and Democracy, which advocates for tougher regulations on AI, filed federal paperwork Friday signaling that it plans to begin $1 million advertising against Jackson.
The timing of that group’s filing raised eyebrows among some Democrats because it came the same day Jackson joined family members, three former presidents and thousands of others for a memorial service honoring his late father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who was buried Saturday.
The Congressional Black Caucus, some of whose members were in Chicago for the funeral services, criticized the super PAC’s move to announce its campaign as the family mourned.
By Sunday, a new filing was out indicating the super PAC was canceling the spending.
The 1st Congressional District seat Rush held for three decades until 2023 is now held by Jackson’s brother Jonathan Jackson. Rush encouraged Jesse Jackson Jr. to seek office again after stepping down in 2012 due to health reasons and then facing charges of campaign finance violations that resulted in him serving prison time.
Jackson is competing in a crowded field in the March 17 Democratic primary alongside Donna Miller, a county commissioner, and state Sens. Robert Peters and Willie Preston, among other candidates. The winner is widely expected to have a strong advantage in November in the predominantly Democratic district.
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