How AI Helped Me Vote Better | AI Experiment | Life With Machines

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This year, instead of cramming with voter guides and campaign mailers, I tried something new—I enlisted AI as my research assistant. This video walks you through my journey of using AI to decode ballot measures, compare candidate positions, and uncover the hidden stories behind my choices. The goal? To make better-informed decisions without letting the machines decide for me. From discovering surprising local histories to diving deep into the implications of policy proposals, this experiment redefines how technology can support democracy.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
0:21 Why Use AI for Voting?
1:39 My Research Toolkit
3:59 AI in Action
6:49 Local Issues & Discoveries
8:59 Playing Devil’s Advocate
13:00 AI’s Strengths and Limitations
18:00 Key Takeaways
22:00 Final Thoughts

What This Video Covers:

???? Democracy’s Final Exam: With so many choices, voting can feel like a high-stakes test in citizenship. I used AI not to replace my decision-making but to help me ask better questions about the options on my ballot.

???? The Experiment: I used ChatGPT and NotebookLM to research each race and measure in depth. By analyzing everything from candidate backgrounds to local historical context, I let AI guide me through questions I hadn’t thought to ask.

???? Surprising Discoveries: AI helped uncover local issues I wasn’t aware of, like Palm Springs’ history of displacement, and showed the real-life impacts of policies like rent control and healthcare agreements. These insights made me feel even more connected to my community.

???? Lessons Learned: This experiment revealed both the power and the limitations of AI as a civic research tool. AI isn’t a substitute for local journalism, fact-checking, or human judgment, but it did help me see connections and implications I might have otherwise missed.


If you’re interested in using AI tools for more than just searching online, this video is for you! Subscribe to my channel for more on democracy, technology, and community insights.

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