Q+A with Jack Tame Stephen Rowe: Campaigning with AI, and the killing of Charlie Kirk
Nov 8, 2025
Stephen Rowe, a program director at the Cato Institute and former colleague of Charlie Kirk, dives into the transformative role of AI in political campaigning. He reveals how generative AI is reshaping outreach strategies for candidates, allowing even those with fewer resources to communicate effectively. Rowe discusses the risks of deepfakes, the need for AI content transparency, and the impact of Kirk's tragic murder on the political landscape. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity and civil discourse in an increasingly polarized environment.
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AI Is Reshaping Political Campaigning
- AI has rapidly transformed campaigning from content creation to multimodal messaging across video, audio and text.
- This shift makes AI much more than ChatGPT and reshapes how campaigns reach voters.
AI Supercharges Voter Targeting
- Programmatic advertising and algorithmic targeting are being supercharged by AI to deliver highly tailored political ads.
- Voter targeting now spans modalities and personalizes persuasion at scale.
Use AI To Amplify Authenticity
- Use AI to overcome 'blank page' syndrome and amplify genuine ideas rather than copy-pasting generic text.
- Be honest about AI use and avoid 'AI slop' that sounds inauthentic to voters.