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Perhaps one of the most important elections this nation has ever seen is coming up, yet many people are still unaware of the details needed to cast an informed vote.
And that’s not necessarily their fault — some voting information can be very difficult to find, especially when it comes to learning about, for example, the political positions of the justices to be removed or what a particular new amendment might mean for everyday life. In Silicon Valley fashion, there’s an app looking to help with this called MyBallot AI, an interactive mobile platform To help make voting information more accessible.
All the user has to do is write in the chat box what they want to know about any upcoming elections and they will receive real-time answers to their questions.
The app, founded by Marc Larman, was It was publicly launched on Friday. It is powered by Google Gemini and derives its data from Google Civic API and BlotReady API. A noteworthy feature is that the app reveals its sources when responding with information, perhaps as a way to avoid the plagiarism accusations that plague other chatbots.
In MyBallot, users can also fill out a ballot form so they can start familiarizing themselves with the language of the ballot. Larman said he hired a developer in February and “it feels like a blessing to finally have it ready in time for the election.”
This application comes at a critical time. Misinformation remains a concern among voters in this election, and one person in particular is causing a stir for election officials: Elon Musk. CNN Reports that state They are trying to fact-check the billionaire to prevent him from spreading claims that would “mislead voters.” Meanwhile, Axios Reported to Facebook Users are falling in love with AI images of fake people giving consent, with a deluge of AI-generated content – including video and audio – taking over the internet. All this, combined with the truth Search engines give priority to news, It makes it difficult for the average voter to find reliable information about voting.
Larman says he’s wanted to create an app like this since the 2020 election. He spent some time that year protesting the killing of George Floyd, and when he found himself in the voting booth, he remembers looking at the ballot and not recognizing who any of the judges were.
“I was there to protest, and when it came time to vote, I didn’t even know which of these judges was for us or against us,” he said.
He spent the next three years thinking about creating a product that could effectively educate voters. When access to AI became democratized, he took that opportunity to start building MyBallot AI. He is now in the process of fundraising and is still working his day job while building the app.
“The app is especially important now to be an unbiased, verifiable source of information,” he continued, adding that voters feel the news right now is biased. “If people weren’t ignorant and knew more about the issues and candidates they were voting for instead of just voting for the team, they wouldn’t feel cheated or lied to.”
Many young people are also heading to the polls for the first time. Efforts are made in every election to engage young voters They are less likely to vote From the elderly. Tufts estimates that in 2020, 50% of young people (ages 18 to 29) voted in presidential elections, up from 39% in 2016.
Larman believes young people will come out of this election, noting that young people are very active in politics, “but, on the other hand, they may be the least likely to make the effort to navigate existing websites that are not user-friendly.” To learn about state and local elections, they certainly aren’t interested in reading any 100-page voting booklets sent to their house.
MyBallot can now be used anywhere in the United States, though it says it plans to expand to other countries soon.
Larman has other big plans for the app as well. It aims to build an outreach component so users can ask questions directly to candidates running for office — and it will start communicating with representatives after the presidential election, just in time for the midterms. To boost participation, Larman also hopes to add political quizzes that can then help make ballot recommendations and work with organizations and universities to reach more voters.
“I want people to trust it as a tool that doesn’t necessarily care what you think, we just want you to think,” he said.
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