Municipal elections in the age of artificial intelligence

Dan Rolph - Exeter Examiner Editior

By Dan Rolph

The future is now.

At least that’s the sentiment we’re hearing repeated like a broken record from artificial intelligence (AI) companies. They say we are entering a new age of advanced technology that promises greater efficiency and innovation, all thanks to this new invention that has become accessible to the world.

Meanwhile, there are also naysayers warning about inflating the promise of AI and cautioning us to prepare for the inevitable bursting of the bubble, like the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s.

I’m certainly no expert when it comes to the possibilities that AI presents for the future.

What I am, however, is someone who is seeing the use of AI creep into areas of life that I’d rather it stayed removed from. I doubt I’m alone in that feeling.

That’s not to say that the technology itself is a problem. I can understand its usefulness, particularly for those of us who may want an extra hand formulating our thoughts in a way that helps us to be better communicators.

As we enter another municipal election season, seeing social media posts from those hoping to represent our communities that are clearly written with the use of AI tools brings me back to something my professors would constantly repeat when teaching about gathering information or interviewing people.

“Face-to-face is always best. Using the phone is second. Written communications are your last resort.”

I worry that the expanding use of AI is quickly becoming another barrier between us and those who should be accountable to us. Layers of separation usually end up shielding our elected representatives from answering to those who trusted them enough to elect them. They are rarely a good thing that leads to better representation.

But this layer of separation is particularly unique. It’s constantly changing and improving, making it more difficult to discern whether something was truly written by a human or not with each update that’s rolled out to the public.

My advice to everyone in our community considering who should get their support this October is simple.

Talk to them, and not through emails or social media where you can’t truly know whether you’re speaking to them or the latest model from ChatGPT. Give them a call or ask them questions the next time you see them out in the community.

Nothing beats hearing answers directly from the source. There is no replacement for seeing a candidate’s facial expressions as they’re asked a difficult question. There is no alternative to hearing confidence or apprehension in their voice as they’re challenged.

Having difficult discussions is vital to a healthy democracy. It allows us to share ideas, ask follow-up questions and ultimately try to find common ground and mutual understanding as we decide what kind of future we want to build.

I don’t think those discussions should be happening with the added input of AI, and I shudder at the thought of what elections will look like in the coming years if we turn a blind eye to its growing presence in our democracy.