Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science are on the rise. Political parties are aware of the power of technology, and campaign teams use tools such as ChatGPT or Bing Chat and the possibilities offered by Big Data to direct the votes in their favor. regional and municipal elections Like what will happen on the 28th in the Community of Valencia and the province of Alicante. Experts such as Andrés Pedreño, president of 1MillionBot, or Manuel Palomar, director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence-Cenid (UA, UMH and Diputación), endorse the use of language-generating technologies, while warning of the risks involved. they also facilitate the spread of hoaxes and fake news. In this context, they note that it has become increasingly easy to change the image or sound for a candidate to say something against their interests, and then this spread from mobile to mobile via WhatsApp. Faced with this danger, they demand greater investment in education that provides all citizens with resources against manipulation.
The use of artificial intelligence is not new, The possibilities offered by this technology They are much larger now than they were a few years ago. Movements initiated at major US universities facilitated, for example, the creation of streams of ideas through social networks, a tactic used in the politics of superpower that pervaded national politics and autonomy. “There has been a democratization of knowledge. It started with advanced statistics and then moved on to artificial intelligence. This made it possible to launch ideation panels via networks like Facebook or Twitter,” explains Pedreño.
The former rector of the UA warns against certain risks, such as the use of miscalculations by different entities to create streams of opinion for their own benefit, with harsh criticism or applause, depending on their situation. “AI is used to identify trends and critical ideas that can help guide voting. Advanced statistical tools were already effective, but AI capability much higher» warns Pedreño before moving on to the section on risks: «The most important tool against manipulation is education. Freedom of opinion, information and press is crucial for voting decision making and having a well-educated population is essential. European governments should invest in education so that citizens know how to verify the news.
language production
For his part, Palomar focuses his discourse on models of language formation such as: ChatGPT or BingGPT. “Just as we rely on technology in any field, it has many uses in politics, such as creating documents, giving speeches, broadcasting on networks, monitoring trends or seeking support in the development of cultural, educational or touristic programmes. “They are tools that have come to persist and contribute to all areas of knowledge,” says Cenid’s manager in his analysis.
Research on this topic shows that AI has the ability to accurately predict who citizens will vote for; this is very important as parties create more and more personalized messages. Inside selection processes Bots and profiles on social networks will also exist, controlled by algorithms that will try to influence a vote that seems closest between them when it comes to regional elections, as happened against the 28M. block on the left and right.
biggest innovation
Experts agree that the most innovative element in this technological field is the emergence of ChatGPT, a chatbot whose use in Political communication is still valid, and that can consistently respond to almost any question posed using natural language. There is a lot of room for improvement, but it can be seen that it will be revolutionary. Since it is not available, the parties still act cautiously in its use. master your potential. An example of this is the statement by the Unides Podem alliance that they agree that they will not use ChatGPT at this time, but that they believe it will assist them in preparing speeches, discussions or programs in the future.
The question in this question is to know if chat based on an AI language model has enough potential to inform the outcome of an election. accepted as the key to the future of political communication. available tools with other new strategies to facilitate and enhance political strategies. Its debut along with the other technologies mentioned in this article contributed to the evolution of classical election campaigns where large rallies lost their importance in favor of what is known as political micromarketing.
Unlike social networks, ChatGPT offers possibilities for creating complete content, improving management and efficiency or teamwork. What are the benefits for political communication? Experts say in their answers that the tool will make it easier to automatically answer questions and messages, so much larger audiencesAutomate content creation with personalized responses and real-time making it possible to write conversations, analyze data, and provide reports and statistics.
Artificial intelligence
The possibilities offered by AI are so great that ad creation will be televised, an option that national parties have already tried. This is the case of En Comú Podem, which, apart from regional politics, has recorded an advertising spot that plans to send a double message to the Barcelona municipal authorities, as experts like Pedreño or Palomar argue: AI is a tool with a wide range of possibilities to make people’s lives easier, but it also needs to be regulated and It is a technology that cannot replace human decision.
With more uptime, big data and analysis of social networks have been the protagonists of success stories in previous campaigns, where they bypassed traditional voting intent surveys based on phone calls or personal interviews. Data science has made it possible to conduct analysis in near real-time, with cheaper methods to measure voter views. These techniques have made it easy to analyze thousands of tweets and blog content and to measure whether the views expressed in them are in line with or against the interests of the entities that carry out or commission them.
Beyond these technologies, which ChatGPT is today’s favorite, there are social networks. Among these, the most prominent tick tock. Parties have struggled to navigate this path by creating their own profiles mainly to channel a message aimed at the youngest, many of whom will experience the celebration of democracy in first person on the 28th. formations and candidates have made an effort to land on Tik Tok to get their message across to a wide audience.
The national directorates of the parties also intervened in this issue and urged regional and regional politicians to explore the potential of Tik Tok or Be Real, one of the social networks that is starting to gain strength among adolescents. This is requested, for example, by the PSOE in its campaign guide for 28M. The socialist handbook is not limited to these options and also includes: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TwitchWith the aim of “reaching the public spontaneously”.
Of course, with the amendment made in 2011, the General Election Regime Organization Law regulates what can and cannot be done in social networks. The proof of this is that political formations can only make propaganda for fifteen campaign days. Of course the regulations are not clear enough and Election Board intervene according to the situation.
PSPV-PSOE
One of the artificial intelligence tools they use in PSPV-PSOE speeds up dissemination and communication tasks by converting audio to text. Big Data is also used to segment messages or find out which tweets were liked and which Instagram posts had the desired effect. As for social networks, PSPV uses them all, from Facebook to Be Real, via Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitch.
PEOPLE’S PARTY
Use each user’s digital experience to analyze what the real problems are and suggest solutions. This is the main use that PP guarantees it makes from technological means. Regarding the use of social networks to project the image of Consell candidate Carlos Mazón, popular ones point out that the goal is to show him what he’s like. For this, the communication team has a specific data analysis department.
CITIZENS
Rely on programmatic advertising to deliver messages in the right places. This is the main strategy Ciudadanos uses with regard to technology. Libertarians use tools that use data and algorithms to strategically deliver messages to users based on different aspects such as their background and behavior. When it comes to social networks, Oranges analyzes the messages of tweets to find topics of interest.
COMMITMENTS
At Compromís, they point out that they use technology to segment messages that they address to segments of the population, such as the young or the elderly, or to send specific advertisements through social networks. They also make use of communication technologies such as podcasts. In fact, those sitting in the main positions of the regional Consensus lists read the program in a radio format to get their proposals out to the whole community.
VOX
The Vox campaign team in the province collects attendance-based data and breaks it down by blocks and population. Once the data is retrieved, it integrates it into spreadsheets and leverages an artificial intelligence application that provides estimates of different parameters. This allows them, for example, to focus visits on specific municipalities or decide on the type of advertising they will run. The tools they use also allow them to calculate abstention, they say.
UNITS WE CAN ACHIEVE
In the left alliance, they are testing different artificial intelligence programs, among them ChatGPT or Bing, to write possible texts. However, they note that mastering these tools at Unides Podem is still in its infancy and will not be using them in the campaign. They believe that when usage is refined, these technologies can be very useful in interviews, speeches, candidates’ debates or election programs.