Can AI do politics? Maxim Behar gives a definitive answer
Report by Bulgaria ON AIR
Can artificial intelligence create a political party in just 15 minutes? A name, a slogan, a logo, even an anthem – all of this can now be generated with just a few commands. But is that enough to build a political campaign and win people’s trust? In this experiment, we evaluated the capabilities of ChatGPT, and the results were evaluated by PR expert Maxim Behar.
Hosts: We have prepared an experiment for you, conducted by our reporter Krasimira Parusheva. In just a few minutes, artificial intelligence created a vision for a new party. How ChatGPT performed will be evaluated by PR expert Maxim Behar. See more in the report.
Krasimira: Now we will try, with the help of artificial intelligence, to produce a campaign for our fictional party by creating the basic elements required – such as a slogan and a party name. We assign ChatGPT its first task: the party name. It offers several options, and we choose “New Bulgaria.” It quickly creates a slogan. We decide to win voters with the message: “The freedom to work and the security to live.” Of course, the logo chosen by the AI includes a lion as our symbol. PR expert Maxim Behar will evaluate our campaign preparation, created in just 15 minutes by artificial intelligence.
Maxim: It would never have occurred to me to go into ChatGPT to generate a campaign proposal, a name, and all these other details. But on the other hand, I must admit that when I compare the names, visuals, and parts of current election campaigns, some of them really do seem like they were made by ChatGPT.
Krasimira: His first remark about our party concerns the name.
Maxim: Overall, it works. But “New Bulgaria” sounds a bit overly patriotic to me. Bulgaria as it is doesn’t need to be made “new.” It’s already full of wonderful, young, intelligent, well-educated, motivated people. It already has all these natural advantages. What we really need is a Bulgaria with politicians who know how to govern and keep their promises. ChatGPT can’t give us that.
Krasimira: The logo proposed by the AI features a lion. Why exactly this symbol?
Maxim: Bulgaria has always had a lion in its coat of arms. Even during the dull, colorless communist years, we had a lion. It symbolizes courage, strength. Bulgaria has many brave and strong people. We can use the lion. Every country uses symbols that are part of its history. The lion is part of our history – as a symbol, as a metaphor. It’s no longer part of our currency, although the “lev” comes from “lion.” And now we are part of Europe.
We could also consider other animals. A panther, something more agile. I would really like to see politicians who are agile and able to make quick decisions. As I’ve said for years in my books: the worst decision is better than no decision. I want to tell people—make decisions. If you make a mistake, the world doesn’t end. You move on and continue.
Krasimira: There were also criticisms of our campaign poster. According to him, it’s not the packaging that matters, but the content and the people in the party.
Maxim: Bulgaria is in a very unusual situation right now. We practically have three wars near our borders. We need very brave people who can make decisions and justify them. That requires serious preparation and a bit of charisma.
Krasimira: According to the PR expert, with advancing technology, the results can indeed be good. But there is something technology cannot give people – charisma, the ability of a candidate to speak convincingly and clearly, and to maintain control over their promises to voters. However, the expert well received the priorities of our party.
Maxim: The economy is the most important thing. But there are also many other areas like culture and education. Education is increasingly connected to the economy. It gives us more freedom and the opportunity to live better. At the same time, there are many non-productive groups in Bulgaria – pensioners, students, though many university students already work. They also need special attention. So, it’s not that simple.
Krasimira: With the help of artificial intelligence, we even managed to create an anthem for our party:
New Bulgaria moves forward!
With a brave people and clear order.
With work, with will and a great purpose.
We will restore strength to our home.
Overall, we managed to create the vision of a political campaign, but in those 15 minutes with artificial intelligence, we could not win people’s trust. What’s missing are face-to-face meetings, the candidate’s personal charisma, and a real understanding of people’s problems.
You can watch the full interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/435/moje-li-ai-da-pravi-politika-maksim-behar-s-kategorichen-otgovor