AI chatbot as Mayor? This US state might be the first one to have an AI Mayor

AI has been entering all the spheres one can imagine, education, business, entertainment, and whatnot. But I never imagined AI would enter politics too! That too running elections! No. I am not sharing the plot of a sci-fi movie, it is happening in reality. Yes! In the United States of America, a lot of things can happen, and this is just one of them. In Cheyenne, Wyoming an AI chatbot has been presented as a candidate for Mayor. Let me tell you the whole story.

How is that even possible?

Victor Miller had filed his candidature for the post of the Mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. Everything feels normal until here, right? Wrong. He went ahead to say that if he gets elected, he will delegate all decision-making to an AI chatbot named VIC. He said, “I realized that this entity is way smarter than me, and more importantly, way better than some of the outward-facing public servants I see.”

Also read: Get ready for the On-Device AI boom in 2024 and beyond

Vic, an AI Chatbot

VIC or Virtual Integrated Citizen will take charge and Miller will be a proxy. He further went ahead and called himself a “meat puppet.” This means that he will do all the work where a physical being is needed, like, attending meetings and signing documents. While VIC will make the actual decisions.

Miller even wanted to list VIC on the ballot. He argued that “Vic” is short for his own name. Issues about the legality and authenticity of this move have risen ever since the announcement.

The Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray said, “We are monitoring this very closely to ensure uniform application of the Election Code. Anyone running for office must be a qualified elector, which necessitates being a real person. Therefore, an AI bot is not a qualified elector. Mr. Miller’s application is in violation of both the letter and spirit of Wyoming’s Election Code.”

Coming to VIC now, it is built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4.0. Owing to this unusual move, an OpenAI spokesperson said that the company had “taken action against this GPT due to a violation of our policies against political campaigning.”

What do you think about this?