Posted by If you’re tired of writing endless fundraising letters, there’s a new AI program designed to do most of the work for you. But don’t worry that it’s coming after your job – at least not yet.
For now, Quiller is designed to put together the nuts and bolts of your fundraising letter – 70 percent of it, according to Quiller’s makers – like an expanded template. The rest is up to you to personalize and add the finishing touches.
Mike Nellis is a Democratic political strategist and CEO of Authentic Campaigns, who created Quiller to utilize the capabilities of AI in fundraising campaigns. He partnered with Higher Ground Labs, an investment firm for political tech startups.
According to Nellis, Quiller’s aim is to alleviate staffers of a particularly tedious aspect of their work which he says contributes to burnout and employee turnover.
Quiller CEO, Hillary Lehr, touts the benefits of the technology. “It’s easy from the sidelines to talk about doom-and-gloom and negative effects [of AI]. But when you’re in there doing the work in the trenches … you see room to really cooperate on wins.”
Thousands of high-performing fundraising emails were used as examples to train the Quiller algorithm, which generates a draft that’s approximately 70 percent complete. Staffers then fine-tune the emails and tailor them to specific candidates and themes. Quiller can also be trained in the particulars of a candidate’s platform, details about the candidate’s district and location, and even local nicknames.
Creators of Quiller also herald its use as a tool for smaller-scale political campaigns, where candidates may not be able to afford the services of contracted fundraising agencies.
While AI’s use is rapidly growing in the political arena – a trend which will likely continue through the 2024 campaign – so do concerns about potential for its misuse. In July, the White House announced a volunteer partnership with seven major industry companies to work on establishing ground rules and best practices for responsible use of AI. This included a pledge to find ways to make users aware when audio and visual content is AI-generated.
The Biden administration said, “We need to manage the risks to our society, to our economy, and our national security.”
With programs like Quiller to assist with the less-than-desired aspects of our jobs, will AI become an efficient labor companion that makes our work easier? Or will it ultimately edge out the human element from jobs that people used to perform? Keep reading here.