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- An AI Cartoon and a Toolkit: Building Skills for the Future of Politics
An AI Cartoon and a Toolkit: Building Skills for the Future of Politics
Explore the future of campaign management in the AI era, learn key tech terms, and discover tools to boost your data literacy.
AI Literacy, Election Insights & an Intro
Good Day All,
Welcome to the latest AI Impact, where this Wednesday we're shining a spotlight on the evolving role of Campaign Managers in the age of AI, providing a crash course on AI and tech terminology, and offering some practical tools to enhance your data literacy. As we delve into the changing landscape of AI in politics and the upcoming 2024 Election, we hope you'll find this issue thought-provoking and beneficial.
This one is a bit longer than normal, as we are changing a few things up; so … let's get the show on the road …
AI Job Watch - Campaign Managers
Campaign managers are responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing political campaigns … or more simply put … the day to day everything. A career as a campaign manager requires the more flexibility and agility of any other political realm career. The sheer diversity of skills needed, such as data analysis, creative thinking, communication, and collaboration is a mouthful. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the role of campaign managers is changing rapidly, for both the better and worse.
AI and ML enable machines to learn from data and perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Starting around 2016, tech savvy firms and/or campaign managers used emerging AI tech to automate tasks; predict with more accuracy and optimize outcomes; and enhance the experience of not only their clients, the candidates, but for voters who reached out asking questions. An example of each:
Digital ad placement: AI analyses data to determine the best time, place, and format for ads … and are able to adjust in real-time as new information becomes available.
Prediction and recommendation: AI is able to quickly analyze data from various sources - far more, far quicker, and far more accurately than humans have been able to do in the past - to predict voter behavior and preferences As AI tech progresses it will get closer to seemingly having a window directly into the mind of potential voters.
Using AI tech as a campaign manager also brings its share of problems:
Ethical and legal considerations: AI requires use in ways that respects voter rights while compiling with all relevant laws and regulations.
Lack of certain necessary skills: Despite AI's abilities, the need for human skills like creative thinking for problem solving, identifying and interpreting non-verbal cues in communication, leveraging emotional intelligence, and true leadership are still some of the most sought-after skills as well as non-negotiable in campaign management.
Today's quote is from an organization that's a great go-to for insights on AI technology and ethics. The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies is a nonprofit think tank which promotes ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies.
In the longer term we are likely to have personal digital assistants to manage major aspects of lives, including our monitoring political news, spam filtering misinformation, facilitating our political activism, and advising us on candidate selection. The design and biases of those algorithms are likely to generate a lot of controversy.
AI Foundations
We heard you. And we're excited to announce a slight shift in our content strategy. In response to your feedback, with the 2024 election still eighteen months out, it became clear that early AI musings from candidates aren’t as beneficial as building a base proficiency in AI, tech, and data analysis.
Therefore, we want to ensure we are equipping you with an operational vocabulary around general AI, tech, and data analysis terms and use cases. As such, our focus will be on providing you with a foundational understanding of key terms and practical applications in AI, technology, and data analysis. Our aim is to empower you to feel confident in engaging and contributing to the robust discussions we know are on the horizon, on such issues as AI Ethics and governance.
Keep the suggestions coming, AI Impact is here to empower you, not just for us to spend hours writing. Let us know if you agree this provides a more balanced and useful content mix. You can always reply to any of these emails or DM the AiBossLady on Twitter.
We will start with 5 basic terms and definitions, chosen and written just for you by our custom built GPT-4 AI model we have named STAR, in a list sure to make your middle school English teachers proud:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and language understanding.
Machine Learning (ML): A subset of AI, machine learning is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. It's based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions with minimal human intervention.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): This is a branch of AI that gives the machines the ability to read, understand, and derive meaning from human languages. It's the driving force behind voice-operated systems like Siri and Alexa.
Neural Network: Inspired by the human brain, a neural network is a series of algorithms that endeavors to recognize underlying relationships in a set of data through a process that mimics the way the human brain operates.
Deep Learning: A subset of machine learning, deep learning trains a computer to perform human-like tasks, such as recognizing speech, identifying images, or making predictions. Instead of organizing data to run through predefined equations, deep learning sets up basic parameters about the data and trains the computer to learn on its own by recognizing patterns using many layers of processing.
AI SkillSet
As is our Wednesday tradition, today we are going in depth and sharing a few cool tools for one of the key skills all you political aficionados and advocacy champions must have.
Data literacy refers to the ability to read, understand, create, and communicate data as information. It's increasingly important in politics because of the vast amounts of data generated during campaigns. Being data literate allows political professionals to make informed decisions, predict voter behavior, and craft effective strategies. Let’s look at 3 ways AI tech is already used in campaigns and ways they will continue to improve in the (near) future:
Voter Sentiment Analysis … By analyzing social media posts, comments, and online discussions, we can gauge public opinion on any issue. AI can enhance this process by automating collecting and analyzing data - providing real-time insights into public thoughts about a candidate without teams of humans spending weeks of late nights to evaluate each shift in the polls.
Demographic Analysis ... Understanding the demographics of a constituency can help in crafting targeted political messages. AI can improve this by quickly processing mind numbingly large datasets to identify patterns a human analyst may miss.
Data Analysis … Analyzing the effectiveness of different campaign strategies and their impact on voter behavior is a foundational piece of campaign management. AI can augment this with predictive analytics, helping campaign managers predict outcomes of different strategies and make data-driven decisions to enhance their instincts and previous experience.
Certainly, there are several AI tools available that can help professionals enhance their data literacy and analysis skills. Here are a few that stand out (in no order and these are not affiliate links - these companies probably don’t know who I am):
Lookup: This tool provides instant data analysis and insights in plain language, making it a great starting point for those new to data analysis.
String: String is a dataset analysis platform that can help improve decision-making. It's a great tool for those who want to delve deeper into data analysis.
DataGPTd: This tool transforms non-specialist data visualization, making it easier for professionals to understand and interpret data.
TableTalk: TableTalk allows for natural language database querying, which can be a useful skill for professionals dealing with large databases.
MonkeyLearn: This platform helps clean, label, and visualize text data, which can be particularly useful for professionals dealing with large amounts of text data.
Remember, the best tool for you will depend on your specific needs and the type of data you're working with. If you need help choosing or learning the best data stack for you and or organization, visit our website and schedule a time to chat.
As we bring today's bulletin to a close, let's veer towards the humorous aspect of technology. Remember, amidst our deep dives into tech matters, a splash of humor can ignite unexpected ideas! 😊
Artificial Intelligence Illustrated
Before we share today’s cartoon, here's a quick joke:
Why did the politician go to the AI conference?
Because he heard that the algorithms always find the best candidate!
That joke by STAR was a bit better than yesterdays (if you missed yesterday or any other emails from AI Impact, click here) … This carton hits a bit close to home as the 2024 election is rapidly approaching. I read today that experts say election spending is already double what it was at this point in the race during the 2020 election.
Pheww… that one was pretty long. Hopefully the flashback to middle school vocab lists didn’t add to the trauma of your youth and instead gave you a jump start into what lies ahead in this fast-moving area of AI and data.
We're thrilled to share that we recently welcomed Tamera Stewart to our team. Following her introduction, we received numerous requests for social media connections within the span of an hour. So, we're excited to provide you with a link to Tamera's digital business card today. She's eager to establish connections with fellow professionals in politics, non-profit and advocacy sectors via her Kado network. By clicking this link —>(Tamera’s Kado), you'll have instant access to her contact information. And to facilitate mutual growth of professional networks, she encourages you to share your details in return.
Remember to stay curious, adaptable, and open to the innovations and challenges that lie ahead. If you want to dive deeper into the world of AI and politics, or if you have any questions about the tools and skills discussed today, don't hesitate to visit our website or reach out to us directly.
Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep making an impact.