Republican John Reid used artificial intelligence to represent Democratic Sen. Ghazala Hashmi in a mock debate after she declined to participate in real debates.
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ConservativebusinessmanandbroadcasterJohnReidenlistedthehelpofartificialintelligencetorepresentDemocraticchallengerGhazalaHashmiinamockdebateforthe2025lieutenantgovernor’srace.
Reid,theRepublicannomineefromRichmond,challengedHashmi,astatesenatorfromChesterfield,toaseriesofregionaldebatesaroundVirginia.ReidnotedHashmiistheonlycandidateofthesixrunningforstatewideofficetodeclineadebate.
ArepresentativeforReidensuredthattheAIonlyenvisagedHashmi’slikenessandvoice—andthatofthemoderator–andtheresponsesgivenbytherepresentationofHashmiwerebasedonherpriorquotesorpublicizedpolicypositions.
Hashmi’scampaigncalledthevideoa“deepfake”andtoldTheWashingtonPostitwasa“desperatemovestraightoutofDonaldTrump’splaybook.”
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