That’s one way to force a debate. After Don Beyer, the hugely favored democratic incumbent in Virginia’s 8th congressional district, declined to debate Bentley Hensel, the independent challenger got creative.
Hensel, a software engineer who calls himself a “passionate data-driven problem solver,” opted to create an AI-version of Beyer instead. As Reuters reported, he didn’t get Beyer’s permission for his project. He plans to debate the AI-bot, nicknamed DonBot, on Oct. 17.
Using OpenAI, Hensel trained the AI chatbot by feeding it information from Beyer’s website and press releases. Hensel also used publicly available data about the congressman. It’s meant to produce accurate answers, Hensel told the outlet.
Hensel won’t be alone on the debate stage with a computer. Fellow independent candidate David Kennedy will also participate in the debate. Republican challenger Jerry Torres has not addressed the forthcoming event, the outlet reported. In the event that Torres doesn’t show, he’ll be represented via a yet-to-be-created JerryBot, Hensel told Reuters.
In a statement to the outlet, a spokesperson for Beyer hinted at the congressman’s feelings about the whole thing.
The spokesperson pointed to Beyer’s work “to improve artificial intelligence regulation, including legislation to prevent nefarious actors from utilizing AI to spread election misinformation.”
Nonetheless, lawyers told the outlet that Beyer likely has little legal recourse when it comes to stopping the AI chatbot-fueled debate.
Despite Hensel’s work to push the online debate ahead, the candidate told the outlet that he isn’t blind to Beyer’s significant lead in the polls. Instead, Hensel views his efforts as a way to ensure “greater transparency” in elections.
AI has been a hot topic as of late. The public is grappling with how to distinguish real articles, photos, and videos from artificially-generated ones. This is of particular concern given the upcoming election.
Worryingly, a study found in February that AI-generated propaganda is as effective as human-crafted media and “could blend into online information environments.”
The post Ghosted by Congressman, He Created an AI Chatbot of Him to Debate Instead appeared first on VICE.
The post Ghosted by Congressman, He Created an AI Chatbot of Him to Debate Instead appeared first on VICE.
