Everyone is talking about AI – artificial intelligence – these days. And now AI is talking back.

In a first-in-the-country effort, Pennsylvania congressional candidate Shamaine Daniels is utilizing the power of AI to reach out to Democratic voters in the state’s 10th Congressional District.

A Harrisburg city councilwoman, Daniels is not eschewing standard campaign strategies like digital advertising, direct mail and door-to-door campaigning. Rather, she has opted to see if AI can assist her in reaching voters with her message.

Civox, a political AI technology company, created the two-way voice calling product for campaigns and causes.

Over the weekend, thousands of such calls were made by AI calling on behalf of Daniels’ campaign. Cofounded by Ilya Mouzykantskii and Adam Reis in September 2023, Civox used a combination of over 20 different open source AI models as well as licensed technology to build its political campaign AI – Ashley. The company declined to disclose what data its AI models are trained on.

“The dawn of AI politics is upon us. Civox is thrilled to be the first company in the world to deploy this game-changing voice-based technology, and we’re proud to set the bar high for best practices for this emerging field,” said Mouzykantskii.

“Civox realizes the interface between Artificial Intelligence and political systems can be manipulated by those with dark designs, and we urge legislators and regulators around the world to pay attention before it’s too late. Governing AI’s interaction with existing political systems in a post Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) world will be critical to our thriving and, ultimately, survival.”

“I’m excited to work with Civox, and proud that my campaign is the first to use this revolutionary technology to engage more voters in the Democratic process,” said Daniels. “We talk a lot about concerns over the unethical use of AI technology, and we must be vigilant against the dangers it can bring.

“But we need to also embrace the opportunities this new technology creates. Civox gives my campaign the ability to do something that was previously all but impossible: have meaningful, interactive, two-way conversations with voters at scale.

“This technology allows so many more people to participate in the conversation about who represents them and how they feel about the important issues we face,” she continued. “I think that’s exciting for our Democracy. I also think this is a great opportunity to demonstrate that this technology can be used in a way that is effective while still being ethical and transparent, and I’m happy to be working with Civox to lead by example on that front.”

“Hello. My name is Ashley, and I’m an artificial intelligence volunteer for Shamaine Daniels’ run for Congress,” the calls begin.

The robotic volunteer answers questions about Daniels, her policy positions and her opponent – Rep. Scott Perry (R-10) – in a slightly metallic female voice designed to remind recipients they’re talking to an AI.

To date, the biggest concerns about AI in politics have been over fake content and deliberate misinformation, such as when a Ron DeSantis PAC used AI in July to fake Donald Trump’s voice. Both Daniels and Civox say her campaign’s voice chatbot is trained to repeat only factual information, including about her opponent.

“In one year most Americans will have spoken with an AI being, whether they know it or not,” said Reis, who is also a founder of Conversation Labs, which created the AI conversation engine powering Civox.

“We can either stand by and let bad actors use this once-in-a-species opportunity to unleash a flood of political misinformation, or we can get ahead of it with proactive regulation and education to realize its tremendous positive potential in government. We see this democratizing political campaigns, lessening reliance on major donors, and facilitating nuanced, high-bandwidth communication between constituents and their representatives at a scale never before possible.”

“I don’t know under what federal law that would be illegal,” said Robert Weissman, president of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.

Michigan is one of a few states that have passed or are in the process of debating legislation to regulate deepfakes in elections. Pennsylvania, where Daniels is running, has no such legislation.

The Federal Communications Commission prohibits campaign-related autodialed or prerecorded voice calls, including autodialed live calls to cell phones without the recipient’s prior consent. The FCC is also beginning a formal inquiry into how AI technology impacts illegal and unwanted robocalls.

None of these rules apply to the way campaigns are using Mouzykantskii’s technology.

Daniels is running against six other Democratic candidates for the opportunity to challenge Perry in November.