Academics and Political Consultants Team Up to Launch Groundbreaking Tool for Political Insight

McLean, VA  — The American Association of Political Consultants Foundation (AAPCF) is excited to announce the release of the AI Political Archive, created in collaboration with New York University’s (NYU) Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP) and the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Center on Technology Policy (CTP). The archive catalogs the use of generative artificial intelligence in federal and down-ballot races in the 2024 U.S. election cycle to provide a more complete understanding of its application to political communications.

“We’ve all seen the headlines about deep fakes and people are right to worry. But the headlines only tell part of the story. AI is changing the way campaigns are run, with broad implications for political speech, our elections, and our democratic process. The AI Political Archive will provide a comprehensive look at how AI is being used in campaigns, serving as a resource for practitioners, academics, journalists, elected officials, and the public to better understand the role the technology is playing in our elections,” notes American Association of Political Consultants Foundation President, Becki Donatelli.

The partnership between New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP), the University of North Carolina’s Center on Technology Policy (CTP), and the AAPC Foundation means the archive will provide an evidence-based, comprehensive review of how the technology is being deployed in races in the U.S. NYU’s CSMaP and UNC’s CTP will ensure the archive, cataloging, and analysis meet robust academic standards while AAPC Foundation’s expansive bipartisan network of political consultants will ensure the archive access to content by the people creating it. Each submission will be rigorously reviewed, validated, and tagged by the research team, allowing users to search, filter, and sort entries based on parameters such as media type, campaign level, and disclosure type.

Political consultants and the public are encouraged to submit TV and digital ads, social media posts, and other forms of content that are suspected or known to have been created using Generative-AI at http://aipoliticalarchive.org/. These submissions, in tandem with examples identified by research staff, will form a dataset that will be available to journalists, academics, policymakers, political consultants, and the general public. The AI Political Archive promises to be an invaluable resource for understanding emerging trends and fostering responsible innovation in political advertising.

The AAPC Foundation’s mission is rooted in the belief that a robust political consulting community is essential for the health and vibrancy of our democracy. We aim to work closely with association members and stakeholders to advocate for the protection of free speech and to participate in public policy outcomes that have far-reaching implications. For more information, see https://theaapc.org/aapc-foundation/.

NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics works to strengthen democracy by conducting rigorous research, advancing evidence-based public policy, and training the next generation of scholars. Visit https://csmapnyu.org/ for more.

UNC’s Center on Technology Policy seeks to craft public policy for a better internet. Utilizing an interdisciplinary academic framework, CTP works to identify knowledge gaps and develop actionable policy frameworks to realize the potential benefits of technology while minimizing its harms. See more at https://techpolicy.unc.edu/.

To contribute to the AI Political Archive visit http://aipoliticalarchive.org/. To learn more about AAPC’s efforts in promoting ethical standards and innovation in political consulting visit www.theaapc.org/advocacy.