Max Greenwood
Many political companies are increasing their investment in artificial intelligence to stay ahead of what many consider an existential threat to the long-term survival of their businesses.
As platforms like Meta roll out new AI-powered capabilities, political practitioners say it is hampering major changes in business models. The budget is likely to shrink, they say, and the deadline will almost certainly be tighter and more demanding due to the technology. As AI automates more and more tasks, businesses with dozens or hundreds of professionals staffed will need to shrink.
Questions about the mind of many political consultants: Can the industry survive this new era of AI in its current form?
During a panel discussion earlier this month at the C&E Digital Campaign Summit in Washington, DC, Push Digital Group's managing partner Phil Vangelakos raised vigilance over AI adoption in the political industry. AI plans to change almost every aspect of how a company operates, and it is up to the practitioner to adapt.
“Everyone in this room needs to wake up now,” Vangelakos said. “Asteroids are coming and many of us in this room will die. We're not going to be in this industry anymore. And I'm no joke. We're going to cut back on the budget. It speeds up the timeline. If you don't have political insight, if you haven't caught up with this technology, I'd like to have hopes to have lunch.”
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The Vangelakos company has launched a major initiative called Push AI this month, with the goal of integrating AI technology into all aspects of its work. In an interview with C&E last week, he said that the AI push was about survival. The technology “is so powerful that it will ruin the entire company in this industry.”
Other practitioners said that AI technology is evolving rapidly, but it still cannot replace the political insight and talent of experienced operatives and experts.
Mike Hearn, president of digital strategy and operations for frontline strategy, said his company has made six figure investments this year to recruit and use AI to guide staff to “make their more My Real Tasks easier for them” and to be freed up for other tasks.
“If we can reduce copywriting, reduce reporting, and fewer segments of our data, that's helpful for us, because AI can focus our attention on other services that are probably just behind the curve,” Hahn said in DCS.
A survey released last month by the American Association of Political Consultants found that the majority of consultants use AI with their existing capabilities. Still, the survey found that many practitioners are wary of being too keen on AI, at least for now.
“That's going to work.”
Jonathan Barnes, CEO of Democratic Firm Authentic, said that part of his hesitation to fully embrace AI is “ignorance.” In short, he said many political experts simply don't understand what AI tools can do or how to place them in effective use. The political industry is notorious for being stubborn by adopting new technologies. But ignoring or avoiding AI is not an option, Burns said.
“This is a big scary thing coming, and I think there's a negative aspect to how influential and how long this will be,” Burns said during a panel discussion at DCS. “I think there's a natural fear that it does the job, and I'll suck up so much of the opinions it does. And we need leaders to understand how AI uses the extra abilities that allow us and give people a good way.”
Adam Meldrum, founder of Republican company Advictory, said despite the spread of AI technology, there is still a need for true human talent in politics.
“Human capital and talent are just as important as ever,” Meldrum said. Your campaign requires constant feedback on what you're doing. What's working… I think it's difficult to replace it with AI overall. ”
Hahn said the biggest change for businesses is hiring talent who knows how to use AI effectively. The industry will inevitably experience growing pains, he said, but the campaign and cause will still have to rely on the skills and insights of political experts.
“We need to hire people who can teach people to use AI to encourage them the right way,” Hearn said. “Do you need fewer people to do that? Sure. But I think they need our experience.”
