Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has condemned a parody artificial intelligence chatbot that was launched by a political candidate seeking to replace her in Congress, calling the tactic "sexist and racist." The chatbot, created by California state Sen. Scott Wiener, was designed to mock Connie Chan, a city supervisor and fellow Democrat who has earned Pelosi's endorsement.
Wiener and Chan are competing for Pelosi's seat in November. The chatbot, branded as "the world’s first AI trained to say no to anything you ask," aimed to criticize Chan's progressive stances, particularly her opposition to numerous housing proposals.
Pelosi, along with other female elected officials, released a statement Thursday expressing outrage over the use of AI in political campaigning. "Women have spent generations fighting to have our own voices heard in the halls of power. We should not have to now fight against artificial intelligence putting words in our mouths," Pelosi stated. The statement further argued that the AI's impersonation of a female voice represented a "gross misuse of technology and reflects a disturbing willingness to erase women’s agency." The concerns were amplified by the fact that Chan is a woman of color, with the statement asserting that such actions "compound with racial stereotypes."
Initially, Wiener defended the chatbot, noting that it was clearly labeled as a parody and accusing Pelosi of making "baseless" claims. He pointed out Pelosi's past opposition to his AI safety legislation. However, Wiener ultimately decided to deactivate the chatbot, stating that its use had become a distraction and shifted focus away from substantive issues.
"Our use of an AI chatbot clearly missed the mark. The conversation became about the tactic instead of the issues that actually matter to San Franciscans," Wiener said in a statement. The Chan campaign responded by stating, "Scott Wiener can rightly take down his bigotry bot, but he can’t erase the concerns it raised among San Franciscans about his character and judgment."
The relationship between Wiener and Pelosi has reportedly been strained since Wiener began expressing interest in her seat. Pelosi's endorsement of Chan, despite Wiener's perceived frontrunner status in the primary, was seen as an indicator of this ongoing tension.