to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Nicholas Joldersma knows who he’s not voting for, in the upcoming Yellowknife municipal election: any candidate who uses generative AI for their campaign material.
Joldersma says using AI shows a disregard for artists and their work, because generative AI systems have been trained with “stolen art.”
“And if you with that knowledge, if you’re using it to create something artistic, then you must not really care about art,” he said.
Although much has happened in Yellowknife since the last municipal election in 2022 — from a city-wide wildfire evacuation in 2023 to the closure of the diamond mines — for many voters, the central issues remain the same: the cost of living, degraded infrastructure, downtown revitalization, and a housing shortage.
The big difference this time around may be in the campaign itself, and the AI tools now available to candidates.
Joldersma’s stance shows how polarizing AI technology has become. Last week, he posted his feelings on social media after he saw a Yellowknife candidate post an AI rendering of a downtown lot.
He said beyond the disregard to art, something he values greatly, he has environmental concerns about the use of AI and he worries about cognitive decline if people rely on it too heavily.
Joldersma said he also worries about candidates using it to develop platforms that they don’t truly understand.
He urges other voters to look closely at how candidates are using AI ahead of the Oct. 19 vote.
“I think it’s important to take a pretty rough or tough stance on usage of these types of systems, especially when it comes to campaigning or politics,” he said.
Joldersma is not alone in questioning the rapid development and use of AI beyond just election campaigns, with world leaders and top AI executives debating safety risks and whether to slow down leading-edge research. King Charles has even warned of the existential danger it poses.
Familiar concern with new technology, expert says
Alex Marland is Acadia University’s inaugural Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, and an expert in campaigning in Canadian politics. He says Joldersma’s concern around AI is reminiscent of every time there’s a new technology being used in political campaigns.
He said people also had questions when television ad campaigns were new, when robocalls were first used, and even when advertising began to enter politics.
“The reality is that I think this is a pattern over time, that people get really worried how technology is used in political campaigns to communicate with voters,” he said.
Marland said there are times where AI can be helpful on a political campaign, making messages a bit more succinct and even giving candidates ideas for things they wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.
But he said there are risks as well.
“You have to make sure that you’re vetting these things, are really reviewing them — and it can generate things that are completely nonsensical and made up,” he said.
Marland said it is good to question the use of AI in campaigns, especially in a municipal election.
“I think one of the real benefits of municipal campaigns and municipal politics in general is authenticity,” he said.
“It’s being able to connect with people without … the filter of a political party feeding you lines. And so you’re campaigning on your own name, it’s your own credibility at stake, not just a party brand.”
