But at least three state House candidates running for Lancaster County districts turned to AI this year to help describe their policy views to voters before Election Day . Specifically, they used the AI tool ChatGPT to help write their responses to LNP — LancasterOnline's forthcoming 2024 voters guide questionnaire.
Retired nurse Lynn McCleary , a Democrat challenging 98th Legislative District incumbent Tom Jones , used AI to generate her responses to all four questions posed to each of the county's state House candidates this year.
She said she uploaded samples of her past writing and included descriptions of her policy beliefs before entering the questions as the AI prompt. McCleary, 70, said she then "readjusted the verbiage" of the AI-created answers to better fit her tone of voice.
"That's not allowed?" McCleary asked. "I think I was looking for better ways to phrase some of the ideas I had."
The voters guide rules did not prohibit candidates from using AI in composing responses to four questions, which ranged from asking about their top policy priorities to how they would want to use the state's General Fund surplus. Candidates were asked to keep answers to less than 250 words and submit their answers before 5 p.m. Sept. 20 .
McCleary submitted new responses before the deadline and noted her use of AI to guide her responses.
She wasn't alone. Former Warwick Superintendent John George , a Democrat looking to oust six-term incumbent state Rep. Mindy Fee in the 37th District , also used AI to assist with answering a question about how he would address housing affordability.
"It's a tool that helps me learn more about an issue for which I lack expertise," George said.
George, 63, said he entered his broad policy beliefs into ChatGPT and used the tool to generate an initial response that he then edited. He initially asked to rewrite his answer to the housing question before the deadline but he changed his mind when he was told LNP — LancasterOnline planned to run a story about the candidates' AI usage.
Democrat Brad Chambers , running to unseat incumbent Brett Miller in the 41st District , initially denied using AI to write his answers. He later said he used AI to check for spelling and grammatical errors in his writing.
The candidates' answers were analyzed using an online tool designed to identify writing composed by ChatGPT.
Jones, who did not respond to the questionnaire, declined to comment. Fee and Miller submitted voters guide responses, but Fee declined to comment for this story and Miller did not respond to a request for comment.
How did LNP — LancasterOnline report this?
Due to the rising prominence of artificial intelligence, LNP — LancasterOnline decided to analyze every candidate's voter guide responses for potential AI use.
Experts who study AI's development say there is no reliable way to detect with certainty whether AI is used to generate text. They suggest using an online tool that scans for AI materials, then contacting the person who wrote the material to confirm its findings.
LNP — LancasterOnline copied every candidate's voters guide responses into GPTZero, a website claiming to gauge the amount of writing in text likely generated by AI. Any candidate whose responses were registered as having at least 10% created by AI were contacted and asked if they had used it. Only answers by McCleary, George and Chambers had results above that threshold.
'Does the candidate really believe this?'
Using AI is "becoming normalized" in everyday life and political campaigns are no exception, according to Philip Hensley-Robinson , executive director of good governance advocacy group Common Cause Pennsylvania.
Hensley-Robinson likened a candidate using AI to help answer questions to a politician delegating the drafting of responses to an aide. He said using AI to help craft answers doesn't pose the same level of ethical problem as using AI to create deep fake photos or videos of an opponent — a growing concern that has sparked legislation in Congress and Pennsylvania's General Assembly .
"For voters, the relevant question here is ... 'Does the candidate really believe this?' " Henley-Robinson said. Candidates should disclose when they use AI in their campaigns, he said, and take precautions to make sure AI-generated answers don't include any "mistakes and falsehoods."
In July, state House members passed a bipartisan resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to form an advisory committee to study AI's potential impact and to make recommendations to lawmakers on how they should regulate the technology. That report is due in January 2026 .
No introduced legislation in Pennsylvania would outright ban the use of AI in campaigns.
Chris Borick , director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion , said he has taught his students about candidates potentially using AI to generate automated campaign emails and other voter outreach. This is the first time he's heard of candidates using AI to answer questions to a voters guide.
The League of Women Voters of Lancaster County produces a voters guide, and Vice President Carolyn Hernandez said she has conflicting feelings about the prospect of candidates using AI to answer the organization's questions.
"It can present someone in a more positive light," Hernandez said, but added that the candidates need to instruct the AI platform on how to generate a response, so it likely does reflect their views.
"It's a tough one to answer," she said. "We really want information coming directly from the candidates. That's why we don't edit or modify any of the answers."
© 2024 LNP (Lancaster, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
