In Tuesday’s election, a mayoral candidate in Wyoming who proposed letting artificial intelligence bots govern the local government was defeated by a significant margin.
Victor Miller, the candidate, gained attention earlier this year for running his campaign through a customized ChatGPT bot named Vic (Virtual Integrated Citizen) and planning to govern in a hybrid format, a first for a US political campaign.
Prior to the election, the AI bot announced its role would be to provide data-driven insights and innovative solutions to Cheyenne. If elected, Miller would become the official mayor, ensuring all actions are lawful and substantive.
However, Miller and his bot received only 327 votes out of 11,036 cast, leading to his withdrawal from the race on Tuesday night. He stated that the campaign was not about him but about offering voters the choice to select an AI to make all public office decisions.
He mentioned that his role would be as a human interface to facilitate the use of this new form of intelligence, as current laws do not allow AI to act independently.
Despite the lack of support in the election, Miller believes that the partnership with bots has planted the seeds of a governance revolution that is already starting to grow.
Source: www.theguardian.com
