Training for women candidates to use AI tools in their political campaigns

Technological advances are often explored by political campaigns for their potential to improving their candidates’ electoral prospects. Modern communication technology, specifically the Internet and social media, has been transformative to the relationship between candidates and voters by creating new and direct channels of communication. Technology has also altered how communities of interest converge and organize around political campaigns. In particular, social media has given outsider candidates the opportunity to challenge more powerful and established political opponents by providing reach that would otherwise only be available to historically organized parties and monied interests.

Tools that can disrupt the status quo can be of great benefit to women and minority candidates and their campaigns who seek to compete with fewer resources. The ability to campaign remotely can also provide avenues for engaging with voters with less physical exposure, which may be preferable for some candidates. This option aims to provide advice in order to support practical training to women candidates on utilizing AI tools effectively in political campaigns.

Artificial intelligence presents a new frontier for political campaigning, with tools underpinned by large language models and machine learning techniques providing opportunities for innovation, efficiency and impact in campaign efforts. This may be, for example, to find new ways to reach voters, persuade them to vote for a candidate, create campaign materials, dynamically adapt content to the audience or elicit donations. They may also be used by campaigns as they seek to understand issues, build an understanding of public sentiment and design platforms. We are currently at a point of exploration on how these technologies may be deployed.

Whereas we saw the last wave of digital revolution create new openings for less well-resourced campaigns, it is unclear if this will be the case for AI tools. While there are various free or affordable tools, most effective leveraging AI capabilities may require knowledge and technical skills, which in turn may benefit established parties.

Working to level up female candidates’ ability to utilize AI tools effectively will be crucial for promoting gender equality and representation in politics. This activity would seek to provide practical advice and recommendations for training female candidates to leverage AI tools to support their political campaigns.

While AI may be effective, the ethics surrounding its use are a common concern. Using it to create deceptive media – deepfakes – is just one disturbing use. How campaigns can use AI may be regulated by a country’s particular legal framework, but their use remains largely limited. A number of the public large language models seek to impose limits on how their tools can be used for political purposes. However, as with many advanced technologies, a broader view should be taken as to what is suitable and in line with the principles of a credible election.

Within such an activity, topics and themes that could be explored include:

1. Understanding AI tools:
   • Provide an overview and demonstration of AI tools commonly used in political campaigns, such as voter analytics platforms, social media monitoring tools and speech analysis software.
   • Explain the capabilities and potential benefits of AI tools for enhancing campaign outreach, communication and strategy development.
2. Building technical literacy:
   • Build candidates’ technical literacy and familiarity with AI, data analytics and machine learning, tailored to the specific needs and interests of female candidates.
   • Provide hands-on tutorials and practical exercises to give candidates experience using AI tools in a controlled environment.
   • Offer resources and support for candidates to continue learning and developing their technical skills independently.
3. Tailoring campaign strategies:
   • Encourage female candidates to explore how AI tools can be tailored to their campaign strategies and objectives.
   • Help candidates identify specific areas where AI tools can address challenges or enhance opportunities unique to their campaigns, such as targeting underserved communities or optimizing fundraising efforts.
4. Leveraging social media and digital platforms:
   • Provide guidance on using AI-powered social media monitoring tools to track conversations, identify trends and engage with voters on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
   • Teach candidates how to use AI-driven content analysis tools to tailor their messaging and utilize paid advertising tools.
   • Highlight best practices for leveraging social media and digital platforms to amplify their campaign message, build online communities and mobilize supporters.
5. Observe ethical considerations and accountability:
   • Emphasize the importance of ethical use of AI tools in political campaigns, including transparency, privacy and fairness considerations.
   • Provide guidance on navigating ethical dilemmas related to data collection, algorithmic bias and digital manipulation, with a focus on promoting integrity and trust in the electoral process.
   • Encourage candidates to prioritize accountability and transparency in their use of AI tools, including disclosing their use of AI-driven strategies to voters and adhering to ethical standards of conduct.