By Paige Gross | AZ Mirror
Days after President Joe Biden announced he would not be seeking re-election, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, polling organization Siena College Research Institute sought to learn how “persuadable” voters were feeling about Harris.
In their survey, a 37-year-old Republican explained that they generally favored Trump for his ability to “get [things] done one way or another.”
“Who do you think cares about people like you? How do they compare in terms of caring about people like you?” the pollster asked.
“That’s where I think Harris wins, I lost a lot of faith in Trump when he didn’t even contact the family of the supporter who died at his rally,” the 37-year-old said.
Pollsters pressed this participant and others across the political spectrum to further explain their stances, and examine the nuance behind choosing a candidate. The researchers saw in real time how voters may sway depending on the issue, and asked follow-up questions about their belief systems.
But the “persuadable” voters weren’t talking to a human pollster. They were conversing with an AI chatbot called Engage.
The speed in which election cycles move, coupled with a steep drop of people participating in regular phone or door-to-door polls, have caused pollsters to turn to artificial intelligence for insights, both asking the questions and sometimes even answering them.
