The First AI Election? How AI Is Already Totally Reshaping Politics
About this episode
The episode discusses how AI is reshaping the political landscape ahead of the 2026 election, featuring insights from expert Katie Harbath.
2026 is the first American election where AI is shaping every link in the chain of political power — from what campaigns put in front of voters, to how voters filter what they're told, to who tech companies are trying to elect.Matt Robison sits down with Katie Harbath — 25-year veteran of the tech-politics intersection, former Facebook elections lead, and author of the upcoming book Disrupting Politics: A Front Row Seat at the Collision of Technology and Democracy (Fall 2026) — to walk through her original survey data and what she's seeing on the ground right now.We cover:Her first-of-its-kind survey of campaign professionals: 87% use AI daily, and most campaigns still have no policy governing itWhy disclosure is more complicated than "just label it" — and the research showing labels can backfireThe voter side: only 9% say they use AI for political info, but that number is misleading once you count AI answers baked into a Google searchWhy Democratic campaign staff lean Claude and Republicans lean ChatGPT and GrokHard lessons from 2016 — and the new "flood the zone" risk Katie's most worried about heading into 2026 and 2028The most underrated vulnerability in…
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