Virginia candidate for lieutenant governor debates AI bot when opponent doesn't show – WUSA9
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HENRICO, Va. — The race for Virginia Lieutenant Governor took an unexpected turn on Tuesday. In a bizarre twist, the Republican candidate for the position held a debate with an AI version of his opponent.
Since the democratic candidate, Ghazala Hashmi, has refused all invitations to debate her opponent, John Reid, Reid used artificial intelligence to hold a debate on his own. The 40-minute debate was streamed live on YouTube, dubbed “The Debate That Should Have Happened.”
Reid’s campaign said the debate was a fully cited and sourced, one-take debate video responding directly to his opponent’s publicly stated positions.
In the video, questions are asked by a recorded moderator. Reid answers live, and Hashmi’s responses are answered with a robotic voice that sounds a little like her.
Reid’s campaign said the project was created in the spirit of fairness.
“Virginians deserve to see a side-by-side contrast, and since my opponent won’t show up, I had to force the issue myself,” Reid said in a press statement.
However, the Democratic Party of Virginia said the Reid was more interested in “shoddy gimmicks and dirty tricks” and does not care about governing.
Ava Pitruzzello, a spokesperson for the Hashmi campaign called the debate a “desperate move.”
“Maybe he should focus on voters instead of videos,” Pitruzzello said.
The Lieutenant Governor of Virginia serves as both a key executive officer and a legislative figure. The Lieutenant Governor serves as the president of the Virginia Senate and may only vote to break a tie, which could steer close legislative decisions.
The Lieutenant Governor is also first in the line of succession to the governor.
This is not the first time artificial intelligence has made an appearance in a Virginia debate. Last year, an AI bot dubbed “Don Bot” represented Congressman Don Beyers in a debate in Virginia’s 8th District.
RELATED: AI ‘Don Bot’ debates opponent in Virginia’s 8th District
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