WIRED Politics Lab - AI Chatbots Are Running for Office Now

Today on WIRED Politics Lab, we're digging into AI chatbots. In a bizarre turn of events, two AI chatbots are running for elected office for the first time—ever. VIC is campaigning for mayor in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and AI Steve is running for Parliament in the UK. Reporter Vittoria Elliot interviewed both of the bots and the people behind them. She explains their motivations, and if any of this is even legal. Meanwhile, reporter David Gilbert talks about how Google and Microsofts’ AI chatbots are refusing to confirm who won the 2020 election.


Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. Vittoria Elliot is @telliotter. David Gilbert is @DaithaiGilbert. Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.

Mentioned this week:
An AI Bot Is (Sort of) Running for Mayor in Wyoming by Vittoria Elliot


Google’s and Microsoft’s AI Chatbots Refuse to Say Who Won the 2020 US Election by David GilbertThere’s an AI Candidate Running for Parliament in the UK by Vittoria Elliot.

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NBN Book of the Day - Duana Fullwiley, “Tabula Raza: Mapping Race and Human Diversity in American Genome Science” (U California Press, 2024)

In Tabula Raza: Mapping Race and Human Diversity in American Genome Science (University of California Press, 2024), Duana Fullwiley has penned an intimate chronicle of laboratory life in the genomic age. She presents many of the influential scientists at the forefront of genetics who have redefined how we practice medicine and law and understand ancestry in an era of big data and waning privacy. Exceedingly relatable and human, the scientists in these pages often struggle for visibility, teeter on the tightrope of inclusion, and work tirelessly to imprint the future. As they actively imagine a more equal and just world, they often find themselves ensnared in reproducing timeworn conceits of race and racism that can seed the same health disparities they hope to resolve. Nothing dynamic can live for long as a blank slate, an innocent tabula rasa. But how the blank slate of the once-raceless human genome became one of racial differences, in various forms of what Fullwiley calls the tabula raza, has a very specific and familiar history--one that has cycled through the ages in unexpected ways.

Duana Fullwiley is an anthropologist of science and medicine at Stanford University. She is the author of the award-winning book The Enculturated Gene: Sickle Cell Health Politics and Biological Difference in West Africa.

Reighan Gillam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press).

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Everything Everywhere Daily - The US Occupation of the Philippines

The Philippines is one of the largest countries in the world. With a population of 115 million people, it is the 14th largest country in the world in terms of population. 

However, for a period of 48 years, it was a colony of the United States.

That half-century was one of the most important in the history of the Philippines. It saw two major wars, profound social and cultural changes, and laid the foundation for full independence. 

Learn more about the period of American occupation of the Philippines and how it changed both countries on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


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What A Day - Rep. Jamie Raskin On Project 2025

House Democrats on Tuesday launched an official task force to take on the far-right agenda Republicans envision under a second Trump presidency. The group of Democrats aims to directly counter the plans outlined in “Project 2025,” a 1,000 page policy blueprint floated by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation that calls for eliminating federal agencies like the FBI and Justice Department, restricting access to contraception, and concentrating more power in the presidency. Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin is on the task force. He joins us to talk about why a second Trump term could be more destabilizing than the first.

And in headlines: President Joe Biden and other world leaders are convening in Italy for the G7 summit, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a non-binding resolution that condemns the use of in-vitro fertilization, and White House Press Secretary avoided giving a definitive answer on whether Biden will consider commuting his son Hunter’s eventual sentence on federal gun charges.

 

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The NewsWorthy - AG Held in Contempt, Florida Flooding & Divorce Registries – Thursday, June 13, 2024

The news to know for Thursday, June 13, 2024!

We're talking about a new agreement President Biden is expected to sign with Ukraine, and why Russian warships are now just 90 miles off the U.S. coast.

Also, why the U.S. Attorney General is being held in contempt of Congress.

Plus, a flooding emergency in Florida, a popular church's controversial stance on fertility treatment, and a new contest to reunite two of the biggest names in competitive eating...

Those stories and more news to know in about 10 minutes!

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The Best One Yet - 🌬️ “Chewing Gum is Out” — Orbit’s gum turnaround. GM’s $8B robotaxi hole. Job Promotion dropoff.

Chewing gum sales have fallen for 14-straight years… so Orbit’s pivoting from freshness to mindfulness.

Job promotions have fallen by half in the past couple years… it stinks, but it also helps.

And General Motors has invested $8B into one $-losing startup… and it’s a banned robotaxi.

Plus, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs just split from 16x hot-dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut… blame vegan wieners.


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About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.



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The Daily Signal - Oklahoma Treasurer Leads Fight Against ESG

Oklahoma is center stage in the fight against environmental, social, and governance policies (ESG), and the man leading the charge is state Treasurer Todd Russ.


Russ was in Washington, D.C., this week and visited The Daily Signal to share an update on his efforts to combat the ESG agenda.


Oklahoma enacted the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act in 2022, and tasked Russ with managing a list of financial institutions prohibited from doing business with the state. That list currently includes BlackRock, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, State Street, and Climate First Bank. Russ found their ESG policies run counter to the financial interests of Oklahoma.


The law is now in jeopardy, however, following a judge’s ruling in May that temporarily blocked its enforcement.


Russ spoke with The Daily Signal about what’s at stake and how individuals can join the fight against ESG.


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Tech Won't Save Us - Silicon Valley is Courting Gulf Monarchies to Fund AI w/ Nitasha Tiku

Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how US tech companies are flocking to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fund their expensive AI ambitions.

Nitasha Tiku is a tech culture reporter at the Washington Post.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

  • Read the pieces Nitasha contributed to on Silicon Valley getting funding from Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and its embrace of the US military.
  • Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018. There’s still be no accountability.
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman met with many Silicon Valley CEOs months before Khashoggi’s murder.
  • The United Arab Emirates launched its own AI strategy in 2018.
  • The UAE also put Pegasus spyware on the phone of Khashoggi’s wife months before his murder.
  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was photographed signing a woman’s chest on June 4.
  • Many Arab Americans in Silicon Valley have reported being scared to speak out in support of Palestinians for fear of retaliation.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - She Met the Alitos—and Got Them on Tape

Furtively recorded conversations with Justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Alito’s wife Martha-Ann provided a window into what these powerful figures are saying behind closed doors. But do the means of getting these recordings undermine their ultimate goal? 


Guest: Lauren Windsor, journalist and executive producer for “The Undercurrent” and documentary filmmaker of “Gonzo for Democracy.”


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Chelsea Devantez’s memoir finds the humor in dark situations

Comedian, TV writer and podcast host Chelsea Devantez moved around a lot as a kid. She jokes in today's episode that her mom "loved to get divorced" — but that also led to what she describes as a pretty great co-parenting situation between her mom and godmother for a while. It's one of the many stories in Devantez's new memoir, I Shouldn't Be Telling You This (But I'm Going to Anyway). She spoke to NPR's Elizabeth Blair about the book, her journey as a domestic violence survivor and the experience of being the product, in part, of a sperm donor

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