Kris Qiu, Cofounder and CEO at IQM.
AI is on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days, and people are using it for virtually everything. Companies have been testing use cases for this phenomenon for several years, but how far is too far for AI?
In the world of political advertising, which is already a hot-button topic, we certainly need to tread lightly. Five years ago, we wouldn’t have dreamt how much information we would have on voter data and how AI could help target people more appropriately, but today, we are accomplishing highly tailored communication strategies at the voter level.
As someone who is deeply entrenched in this space, I often find myself asking what the line is between powerful tools and unethical manipulation. So often, people think the duo of AI and politics will result in creative manipulation and misinformation, and of course, that exists, but there are also ways to use AI outside of the creative space. These methods can be ethical and can also create immense benefits for the advertiser and the voter.
The Hesitation Around AI
People are wary of AI—many think it is going to take over the world and that people will lose their jobs in the process. I understand the fear of computers taking over, and I get why people might question how they fit into a world overrun by technology, but ultimately, if you aren’t adopting AI in everyday life, you could fall behind.
This doesn’t mean every job will be lost or that people will become inferior to robots; it simply means we are allowing ourselves to become more efficient, utilizing our time on more productive activities (or even spending less time working and more time enjoying life!).
Using Technology Responsibly
Of course, any company that utilizes data, especially voter or consumer data, needs to follow the laws of the land. But as is often the case with new technology, some of this is so new that laws and regulations need to catch up with innovation. Ultimately, I think the person behind the AI needs to be the one determining how far is too far.
Indeed, every company should keep in mind basic ethical guidelines, like remaining transparent, ensuring data privacy at all times and continuously refining AI systems to minimize bias.
With so much changing, many of us want to be at the forefront of technology, and that often means harnessing the power of AI. My hope is that we can dynamically generate messages to match and optimize for political messaging, allowing users to see real-time sentiment and trends.
The challenge of using AI in politics lies in harnessing these innovations while ensuring that personalization does not evolve into intrusive surveillance or manipulative targeting.
The stipulation: Regulations have a lag time to catch up, and we’re seeing that now. We are starting to see the regulations being introduced to combat misinformation, but we’re still a ways off from truly solving this issue.
So, when I’m building my AI offering in this space, I want to make sure everything lives up to my own standards and expectations—always maintaining transparency and building public trust. Ultimately, I think we will likely see more regulations like those in Europe and California that could potentially make collecting data more difficult, but on the flip side, it could make the data we do get more accurate.
Takeaways For Campaign Managers
So, with the world on edge about what is coming next from AI, I’m left to wonder if using the tool in politics is ethically sound. I’ve spent many years thinking about it, and if done correctly, I think it is more ethical than not using AI.
But we must do so correctly, cautiously and confidently. Here are a few takeaways on how to use AI in a political campaign context:
1. Focus on what is allowed. Don’t spend time thinking about how to get around the aspects of AI in political advertising that aren’t allowed. Spend your time using AI to properly target the individuals you are going after.
2. Increase engagement. Understand that using AI isn’t lazy—it can be a way to safely and efficiently increase engagement with voters, therefore securing better outcomes. For example, by building AI into optimization, you can automatically optimize your campaigns to your goal KPIs. Are you looking for people to click through to your site to learn about the platform your candidate is running on? Use AI to help ensure that you’re prioritizing your bids to reach audiences that have historically been observed to interact with ads.
3. Focus on precision. Build out larger political advertising campaigns that reach more of the right audiences without busting your budget. Focusing on precision to find only the most relevant voters and then focusing efforts on them could improve your outcome and help your budget as well.
4. Monitor regulations. Keep an eye on compliance and regulations because they are always going to change and evolve as technology changes. Being ahead of the curve on laws taking shape could put you ahead of your competitors.
Overall, I view AI in political advertising as a means to reduce the time campaign managers spend executing these campaigns while increasing overall outcomes. Though this continues to evolve, I truly think in the next one to two years, we will see major improvements in AI and voter data that will make our political advertising methods safer and more effective.
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