Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
4h ago

Wiener Pulls Parody AI Chatbot Targeting Connie Chan After Party Leaders Condemn It

Democratic officials called the bot sexist and racially harmful, raising fresh concerns about the use of generative AI to impersonate political rivals.

California State Senator Scott Wiener answers a question at a candidate forum for California's 11th Congressional District at UC Law on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, shown at a Chinatown event in June, has opened her congressional campaign headquarters in the Mission District.  
State Sen. Scott Wiener opened his campaign headquarters on Market Street in May.
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, shown outside City Hall in July, opened her congressional campaign headquarters in the Mission District, a neighborhood she said is rooted in the challenges the city is facing.

Overview

  • State Senator Scott Wiener this week launched ConnieChan.ai, a parody chatbot powered by an Anthropic model that framed Chan as reflexively opposed to popular policy ideas.
  • Chan’s campaign and allies said the bot produced racist and sexist answers about her citizenship and accent, prompting public criticism from Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and local Democratic groups.
  • Facing mounting backlash, Wiener apologized and took the chatbot down on Friday and said the campaign would remove the related Richmond District billboards.
  • The episode has sharpened intra-party tension in the race to succeed Pelosi, with Chan opening a Mission District campaign headquarters and her team keeping pressure on Wiener over judgment and respect for immigrant communities.
  • Beyond the local contest, the incident spotlights unresolved issues about AI in politics: how campaigns may use generative models to impersonate opponents, the limits of parody labels, and whether regulators or parties should set new rules.