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(NewsNation) — Wyoming mayoral candidate Victor Miller has continued his push for artificial intelligence to run the state’s capital city, Cheyenne.
The librarian, now a political candidate, told NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” of his plans in June.
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, Miller reiterated his proposal at a county library this summer, according to the Washington Post.
Instead of answering the audience’s questions, Miller allowed an AI bot he labeled “Virtual Integrated Citizen” (VIC) to respond.
How would AI run Cheyenne, Wyoming?
If elected, Miller wants to leave the city, home to 65,000 people, in the hands of AI — to a degree. Miller told the Post that while he would attend ceremonies and events, the bot would veto or sign legislation and take charge of decision-making matters.
Speaking to Cap City News, Miller outlined some of his plans to ensure transparency is met, should he be elected.
“We aim to involve the community through regular town hall meetings, online forums, and transparent decision-making processes to ensure that residents’ voices are heard and valued,” Miller said.
Miller has faced several challenges in remaining on the ballot. He is the candidate but has insisted that he is merely the “meat avatar” for VIC.
“AI is on the ballot,” he told the Post.
Could AI run a city?
Residents of Cheyenne, along with the wider populace, wonder what the city could look like if Miller were successful in his bid.
According to experts who spoke to the Post, Miller’s pursuit is a first in U.S. politics.
“This incident in Wyoming seems to be testing the frontiers of local regulation,” Valerie Wirtschafter, an AI and democracy researcher at Brookings Institution, told the outlet.
Arvind Narayanan, a computer science professor at Princeton University, told the Post it is challenging to foresee what could lie ahead if Miller, or another candidate with a similar philosophy, would ever come to win.
“It is hard for me to talk about the ‘risks’ of having an AI mayor,” Narayanan told the Post via email.
“It’s like asking about the risks of replacing a car with a big cardboard cutout of a car. Sure, it looks like a car, but the ‘risk’ is that you no longer have a car.”
Why does Miller want AI as mayor?
According to the Post, Miller first began thinking of the concept after he believed he was erroneously denied a public records request.
“I started wondering if AI would make a better mayor than any human,” Miller said.
Miller used his technological skillset to create a custom bot on ChatGPT 4.0 and gave it documents such as city ordinances and came to learn it had decision-making capabilities.
In May, he filed a mayoral candidate application for the bot under the name “Vic”; initials for “Virtual Integrated Citizen,” a name that the bot devised for itself upon Miller’s request.
Objections to AI candidacy
Miller and VIC have faced roadblocks throughout the campaign; most of which centers around an objection to his trailblazing approach.
Chuck Gray, Wyoming’s Secretary of State, wrote a letter in June outlining his “significant concerns” with VIC being a candidate.
Mayoral candidate RIck Coppinger has disagreed with Miller’s approach, believing AI has no place in the operation of a democracy.
“If people believe AI will run their city better than human intervention,” he told the Post, “then we have issues.”