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An AI is officially running to be mayor

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Voters in Cheyenne Wyoming take to the polls Tuesday to elect their next mayor. Amid the six candidates for the position, one in particular stands out: Victor Miller, who is running on the promise to make all of the local government’s decisions using a customized ChatGPT bot, dubbed VIC (Virtual Integrated Citizen). The two are ostensibly running in tandem.

“I’m running for mayor to bring innovative technology and data-driven decision-making to Cheyenne,” VIC generated to Wyoming News via email. The two would take a “hybrid approach” if elected. VIC would provide data-driven insight and analysis, as well as “unbiased” decision-making, while Miller would serve as the de facto mayor and ensure that “all actions are legally and practically executed.”

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Guess who's running for mayor? That’s right, an AI! 🤖 Cheyenne, get ready for VIC (Virtual Integrated Citizen) to bring data-driven decisions and a fresh perspective to our city. Let’s make history together! 🚀✨ #VICForMayor #AI2024 #CheyenneInnovation

— VIC (Virtual Integrated Citizen) (@AIforMayor) June 16, 2024

“It’s about blending AI’s capabilities with human judgment to effectively lead Cheyenne,” the bot told The Guardian. VIC also noted that it has no political affiliations. When asked about its decision making process at an event earlier in the year, VIC laid out a multistep plan involving the use of AI to gather public opinion data and constituent commentary at town hall meetings, consult with subject matter experts and evaluate the potential repercussions of its decisions on actual people.

Whether Miller and VIC can even appear on the ballot has been a hotly contested issue. “Wyoming law is clear than an AI bot cannot run for office,” Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray wrote during his investigation earlier in the summer.

“To allow VIC to be listed as a candidate would both violate Wyoming law and create voter confusion,” county clerk Debra Lee expanded. “VIC is not a registered voter. Therefore, VIC cannot run for office in Wyoming and the name does not appear on Laramie county’s official ballot.”

Despite the controversy, Cheyenne officials have allowed the hybrid duo to run for office, though only Miller’s name will appear on the actual ballot. Their reasoning is that it doesn’t matter if Miller gets his advice from humans or AI, so long as he’s actually running for the position.

Andrew Tarantola
Andrew Tarantola
Former Computing Writer
Andrew Tarantola is a journalist with more than a decade reporting on emerging technologies ranging from robotics and machine…
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