Do chatbots and politics mix?
By: Chris Knight
Tags: Bots, Chatbots, Politics, Elections, AI

In previous electoral cycles, chatbots were simple question-answering machines to help clarify where candidates stood on issues, to help pollsters get the mood of the people and so on. Those days have gone, wiped out by digital extremism, political greed/hubris and a desire to do anything to lie, cheat or steal to win any election, so where do the good bots go now?

Across Britain and the U.S. and into almost any other country, electoral rhetoric has gone down the sewer faster than Donald Trump’s agenda to “drain the swamp.” All of a sudden, with deep fakes, foreign interference and efforts to scream the biggest lies so loud people believe them, social media has become a no-go zone for most people looking for some political clarity.

Even what you might consider a reputable bot can be fair game, with Facebook taking down Benjamin Netanyahu’s chatbot during the recent Israeli election for a minor infringement. Social media sites are under massive pressure to take down misleading posts from politicians and the huge quantity of fake posts trying to mislead the electorate.

But what is misleading? Facebook has said it would run a video by British Conservatives that was doctored to show a rival hesitating to answer a question, even though he actually answered the question perfectly well live on national TV. You can almost feel the smiles radiating in Donald Trump’s camp as they think of ways to edit Democrat rivals to look bad for the U.S. 2020 elections.

As foreign money drives these elections, how long until a government shuts down an advertising network, or even Facebook access in their nation based on Mark Zuckerberg’s hapless reactions to demands for action? At least most ads now have to show why they are targeting you the reader.

If that leaves you with a sense of despair, just think about India’s 2017 election and the massive success of Operation Black Dot that used various means including a Facebook Messenger chatbot to encourage huge levels of voter registration. There’s nothing to stop a western independent creating some bot that can drive the debate and make unheard voices audible.

Chatbots Still Doing Good for Political Access

Back to chatbots and they are still being used for positive means. Take the U.K. chatbot that was taking people’s Tinder profiles and encouraging users to register to vote and engage on issues.

Over in Canada #AskAlyia provided information for Canadian Muslims looking for more information on issues relevant to them during the recent election and there are plenty more people can find to help them access the election or understand the underlying issues.

Beyond these examples, any organisation or political party looking to launch a political chatbot needs to consider the audience, the questions people will ask and what message they want to get over. Yes, it is easy for any political hack to craft a quick bot that can spout the messages by their lords and masters, however far from the truth they dare to stray.

But as people search for the answers to questions NOT ANSWERED by the politicians, activists and other parties can launch chatbots to engage. These can show a different point of view or some hard facts to rebut what is said in the latest face-to-face debate, cozy fireside press chat or slanging match.

Your team doesn’t need a dedicated AI chatbot coder to join in the effort, they can be built using the likes of SnatchBot’s design-based tools and natural language processing to build smart bots without the need for in-depth coding.

The trick to success is to build a bot that is based on valid information, anything caught spouting lies or mistruths will likely generate press for the wrong reasons and be swamped by abuse, making it unusable.

Good bots that provide genuine value, access to unique information or ideas, could easily go viral and generate press attention, so a cloud chatbot that can handle high loads of interest will be essential.

With pieces like this, suggesting AI may swing the 2020 US election, chatbots and AI-based marketing and advertising will be at the center of attention, whatever the results. Whatever your political leaning, do your best to highlight the good that comes from bots and AI, we’re sure the tabloids will be doing their best to highlight any misdeeds.