No Debate? Congressional Candidate Creates Chatbot to Replace Opponent
When a longshot congressional candidate in Virginia couldn't persuade his incumbent rival to join a debate, he devised a novel solution.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty Images
A congressional candidate in Virginia, frustrated at being rebuffed in his demands for a debate with the Democratic Party incumbent, has created an AI chatbot to take his place. Software engineer Bentley Hensel, who is running as an independent, refused to take no for an answer when Don Beyer, who won Virginia’s 8th congressional district with three-quarters of the vote last time out, turned down an offer to attend an October 17 debate. He gave “DonBot” a crash course on Beyer’s views and policies using websites, press releases, and information from the Federal Election Commission. Hensel insists to Reuters that the chatbot, created using ChatGPT’s OpenAI, is not meant to mislead voters and should offer accurate answers. The online debate will be streamed online, and Hensel has apparently warned other candidates in the race that if they decide not to join in then he may make AI chatbots of them, as well.
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