Perfect Like a Computer
It's Human Cosplay, Balkan government style
As I tried to wrap my head around the new Balkan government AI system this week, I realised that chatbots are human cosplay. I had a huge assist from the world of professional wrestling, courtesy of some generous fans, and I also learned that chatbot politics kicked off before 2025.
In 2018 in Tama City, Western Tokyo, a man called Michihito Matsuda said he was running an AI system called “Michihito Matsuda” as a candidate for mayor. On campaign posters, the AI system was depicted as a metallic female robot – video-game hot with smooth breasts and delicate features. In fact, it’s not legally possible for nonhuman candidates to run for office in Japan, which is probably why Matsuda gave the robot his name – so it was him on the ballot. Regardless, the campaign story was that the AI would be mayor and that Matsuda deferred to it. For whatever reason, the citizens of Tama City did not choose the AI to be their mayor. But it did get some votes, which may be why Matsuda tried again in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election…
You can read the article at The Monthly.
There was a lot I couldn’t fit into the article, including the fact that before Michihito Matsuda made his second bid, a Japanese AI Party put forward a mayoral proxy-candidate called “AI メイヤ” with a poster of a cute cartoon male, who looked like he belonged to an anime band. It did not win.
A year earlier, “AI-Joe” was put up for the Minato ward in Tokyo. The campaign poster depicted a glowing blue brain hooked up to a computer network. As an image, I’m sure it represented the vision of the party, but as the representation of a candidate voters could get behind, it didn’t seem to work either.
The person behind the AI said that it wasn’t influenced by emotions or personal interests, and would always make ‘right, objective decisions’. So it’s perfect, like a computer.
There’s much more to explored here! Stay tuned for the next Ex Machina column at The Monthly.
