These Democrats Think the Party Needs AI to Win Elections

The 2024 election cycle saw artificial intelligence deployed by political campaigns for the very first time. While candidates largely avoided major mishaps, the tech was used with little guidance or restraint. Now, the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC) is rolling out the first official playbook making the case that Democratic campaigns can use AI responsibly ahead of the midterms.

In a new online training, the committee has laid out a plan for Democratic candidates to leverage AI to create social content, write voter outreach messages, and research their districts and opponents. Since the NDTC’s founding in 2016, the organization says, it has trained more than 120,000 Democrats seeking political office. The group offers virtual lessons and in-person bootcamps training would-be Democratic politicians on everything from ballot registration and fundraising to data management and field organizing. The group is largely targeting smaller campaigns with fewer resources with its AI course, seeking to empower what could be five-person teams to work with the “efficiency of a 15 person team.”