Democrat Mayor Eric Adams of New York City is embracing AI to campaign, using voice cloning tech to make robocalls directly to communities in their native languages. Boasting of his AI robocalling tool, Adams claims, “People stop me on the street all the time and they say ‘I didn’t know you speak Mandarin.'”
Business Insider reports that in a blend of technology and governance that has many negative possibilities, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has turned to Artificial Intelligence to foster a closer connection with the populace of the Big Apple. Utilizing a sophisticated AI voice cloning software known as Voice Lab, the mayor’s office has initiated robocalls in an array of languages, including Mandarin, Yiddish, and Haitian Creole.
“People stop me on the street all the time and they say ‘I didn’t know you speak Mandarin,'” Adams said, highlighting the effectiveness of the technology in mimicking linguistic nuances.
The approach aims to “speak directly to the diversity of New Yorkers,” as nearly half of the city’s residents speak a language other than English at home.
Since its inception in March 2022, the program has successfully reached over 4 million residents, disseminating essential information about citywide job fairs and community initiatives.
In addition to the robocalls, Mayor Adams unveiled a new AI chatbot, a resource meticulously designed to assist small business owners. The mayor expressed aspirations for the chatbot to evolve, envisioning it as a multilingual tool capable of providing answers in “hundreds of languages that are out there.”
Others have raised concerns about the tech. Caitlin Seeley George, Campaigns and Managing Director for Fight for the Future, a nonprofit advocacy group for digital rights, commented: “We need baseline rules because there are a whole bunch of other far-more nefarious use cases that could come up.”
Adams, however, is optimistic about the future of the tech, stating: “We know the term AI can cause anxiety. We hear it all the time. People think all of sudden you’re going to have a terminator figure come in and take over government and displace human beings. Take a deep breath, get a grip, it’s going to help us function better in the city.”
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.