Recognizing the rise in artificial intelligence and the increase in social media platforms that campaigns will need to master, two premiere Democratic groups are teaming up to train a small army of digital campaign staffers ahead of the 2024 election.
Priorities USA, a top Democratic super PAC, is partnering with Arena, a progressive group focused on diversifying campaign ranks, to train digital staffers on advancements in AI and right-wing messaging tactics, according to plans shared exclusively with HuffPost.
AI especially is presenting a new minefield for campaigns, increasing the risk for misinformation and propaganda. At the same time, digital staffers on campaigns are having to confront the sheer number of new social media platforms that exist to wage these attacks. This includes many that have emerged to replace Twitter, which has become far less popular with Democrats and the progressive left since Elon Musk’s takeover.
“Artificial intelligence both poses strategic risks and strategic opportunities for Democrats,” said Lauren Baer, managing partner at Arena. “Part of what we’re trying to achieve in this training is teaching the folks who will be leading digital teams and programs how to mitigate those risks and how to seize those opportunities.”
“We have some sense of the contours now of how AI will shape the 2024 election cycle,” she continued. “But the speed with which this technology is developing is truly unprecedented.”
“When we conceived of this training late last year, I’m not sure that ChatGPT was released,” admitted Nick Ahamed, deputy executive director at Priorities USA.
Last month, the rapid response arm of Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign came under fire for sharing an AI-generated image of former President Donald Trump hugging Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who helped oversee the government’s COVID response. There are currently no rules or standards in place to guard against intentionally misleading content put out by campaigns.
An AI-powered campaign cycle is also expected to unleash armies of robots trained to speak like humans, replacing the Russian “troll farms” that spread lies during the 2016 election — tools both sides of the political divide can wield to different ends.
“As we think about teaching people how to use these tools, a lot of it is about ethics and where is the line? Or when we’re talking to a voter, how do we make sure we’re representing the truth? A lot of times, thankfully, our campaigns don’t need to fake something or make an artificial copy of something to show their record,” Ahamed said.
Priorities USA and Arena hope to prepare staffers for the digital combat they’ll need to wage this year into next, countering not only messaging from the large field of Republican presidential candidates skewering Joe Biden, but down-ballot races where the battle for control of Congress and state legislatures is being fought. Arena’s efforts paid off greatly last year for the left, when the organization’s fellowship program helped deliver a Democratic majority in the Pennsylvania General Assembly for the first time in more than a decade.
Arena focuses its recruitment on diverse staffers at a time when Democratic campaigns are increasingly engaging voters of color to win key races, with a goal of training mostly women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
The training is open to 100 participants with at least one cycle of campaign experience. Curriculum for the two-day workshop includes content strategy, media planning, messaging, analytics and social media. At the end of the program, participants have access to career development resources, including referrals for jobs with campaigns. Organizers said this is critical to ensure Democratic campaigns have enough skilled and experienced staffers in their pipeline.
“Recruiting any staff in the campaign space is challenging,” said Baer, whose organization has trained 7,000 staffers since 2019. “Right now, we’re dealing with a historically tight labor market … so it becomes even more challenging to make sure to make sure those teams are reflective of our country and our party.”