A Wyoming mayoral candidate who proposed letting an artificial intelligence robot run local government lost his race Tuesday — by a landslide.
Candidate Victor Miller announced his candidacy for mayor of Cheyenne earlier this year and quickly made headlines after he decided to run with his custom ChatGPT bot, named Vic (Virtual Integrated Citizen), and declared his intention to govern in a hybrid format, in what experts say was a first for American political campaigns.
Before Tuesday’s election, the AI bot “said” Your Wyoming Link that his role in government would be to provide data-driven insights and innovative solutions for Cheyenne, while Miller would serve as the official mayor if elected by voters and ensure that “all actions are executed in a legal and practical manner.”
But ultimately, Miller and his robot only received 327 votes of the 11,036 cast members.
On Tuesday night, Miller conceded the race and saying In a statement, the campaign was not about him as a candidate, but about “offering voters an innovative choice: the opportunity to elect an AI that would make 100% of the decisions in office.”
He added that his role was “merely that of the human interface needed to bring this new form of intelligence to the ballot box, as current laws do not allow AI to operate independently.”
Despite their poor showing at the polls, Miller said of his partnership with bots: “The seeds of a revolution in governance have been planted, and they are already beginning to sprout.”
