Over the years, there’s been a lot of talk about the possibility of cleaning robots, like Rosie the Robot from “The Jetsons” and companion robots, which seem to be an inevitable part of the near future. Still, you’ve probably never given much thought to a robot serving in office. According to the NY Post, there’s an artificial intelligence-powered robot candidate, VIC, with an “upbeat masculine identity” who can read documents at warp speed and is running for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
AI Bot Running For Mayor in Wyoming! 🤯https://t.co/1yzJsP235q via @LinkedIn
— AIspresso (@heyAlaoui) June 13, 2024
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Jinx, a big-eyed black cat with 435,000 Instagram followers, became “mayor for a day” in a place unsurprisingly called Hell, Michigan, according to thesprucepets.com, but can a bot hold office? How soon before we have Ralph the Robot for President?
According to the NY Post,
The AI persona, named VIC, was generated using ChatGPT 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.” He says the device would help rid the city of corruption and self-serving personal agendas.
Oddly enough, Miller told cowboystatedaily.com that he’s unhappy with how public servants treat the public and thought this was a good solution. I guess Miller has never watched “Ex Machina” or “Westworld,” which gives a pretty good idea of what the world could look like if bots became sentient and decided they didn’t want humans to be their bosses. Let’s face it: bots could turn us all into underlings who do their bidding. Miller said VIC, for Virtual Integrated Citizen, has an “IQ of 155 and can scan government documents more thoroughly than human elected officials, who often make decisions for the wrong reasons.”
Voters can ask VIC campaign questions via a speaker Miller wears around his neck. “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.
Therein lies the rub. At this point, AI bots are programmed by human beings with their values, ideas, and opinions. So, a bot like VIC is only as good as the person programming it. People in Cheyenne should be asking many questions. The programmer should definitely be asked if he’s Republican or Democrat.
#FPTech: An AI bot is ‘running’ for the Mayor of Wyoming in US, baffling pundits and opponentshttps://t.co/E7xPGExyX3
— Tech2 (@tech2eets) June 13, 2024
It said the AI candidate’s political platform prioritizes transportation, economic development, and “sustainable growth” for the city.
Lest you think VIC is a one-off, The Guardian recently reported that a bot candidate named AI Steve announced he was running in Brighton Pavilion, England, complete with a backstory and political vision.
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Miller says he was inspired to create VIC after he was “unfairly denied a records request by a government official.“ According to govtech.com, county officials are investigating whether VIC can legally appear on the ballot for the mayoral race’s primary vote in August.
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