This is taking the artificial intelligence (AI) boom to a whole new level.
According to a FOX Business report, a librarian running as a nonpartisan candidate for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, promises to allow an AI bot created by OpenAI to run the state’s capital city.
According to the report, last month Laramie County was forced to make the distinction that Victor Miller, a 42-year-old human man, would be listed on Tuesday’s primary ballot among five other candidates running for mayor of Cheyenne and “there is no Artificial Intelligence (AI) candidate running for office in Laramie County.”
However, a recent Washington Post report said that during a recent library meet-and-greet, however, Miller stood behind a lectern that read “AI FOR MAYOR.”
Miller allegedly pitched to a small audience that he would exclusively run the city with an AI bot called “VIC” for “Virtual Integrated Citizen” if elected, according to the report.
He promised that the AI bot would benefit democracy given it could remain objective and free of mistakes and govern more efficiently by processing hundreds of pages of municipal minutiae. After delivering a brief PowerPoint presentation, Miller then stepped away from the podium and had the bot, operating off his Mac mini and iPad, answer questions from the audience.
One attendee, holding a wireless microphone, asked if the computer system at City Hall was sufficient to handle AI, the Post reported. Another person asked, “If elected, would you take a pay cut?”
“How would you make your decisions according to human factor, involving humans, and having to make a decision that affects so many people?” a third person asked the AI bot.
The Post reported that after each question, there was a pause before VIC responded in a male-sounding voice.
“Making decisions that affect many people requires a careful balance of data-driven insights and human empathy,” it said. “Here’s how I would approach it,” VIC added, outlining a six-part plan that included using AI to assemble public opinion data and answer human constituents at town halls.
In June, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray cited “significant concerns” with VIC appearing on the ballot given a qualified elector “must be a real person,” but Cheyenne City Clerk Kristina Jones, who certified Miller’s candidacy in May, insisted that the human man was “still the candidate for election per his application” even if Miller “made the decision to receive direction from an AI bot.”
If he wins the election, Miller told the Washington Post he will attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies and shake hands, but VIC, the AI bot, would serve as the executive and decide whether to sign or veto legislation. Miller envisioned passing along information he learns during in-person events to the AI chatbot and helping facilitate VIC’s responses to constituent emails, the Post reported.