Jason Palmer emerged victorious in the presidential primary of American Samoa by securing 51 votes, surpassing the incumbent, Joe Biden.
- Jason Palmer, a Democratic contender, clinched the primary election in American Samoa, disrupting Biden’s potential sweep.
- The underdog candidate attributes his triumph partly to his integration of AI technologies.
- Palmer, an entrepreneur, leverages AI for communicating with voters via text and email, as well as utilizing an AI avatar for interactive discussions.
In a surprising turn of events, Jason Palmer, the youngest Democratic challenger in the 2024 presidential race, outperformed the incumbent Joe Biden in the primary election held in American Samoa on Super Tuesday. Palmer, hailing from Maryland, attributed his unexpected victory to the strategic utilization of artificial intelligence.
Securing a total of 51 votes in the American Samoa primary, Palmer surpassed Biden’s 40 votes. This unforeseen win not only halted Biden’s dominance across all primary elections but also secured three delegates for the Democratic nominee. However, as a US territory, American Samoa will not partake in the upcoming general election in November.
Despite the slim odds of dethroning Biden as the Democratic nominee for president, Palmer expressed to Business Insider the recent surge in his campaign’s momentum, crediting the adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. Palmer’s campaign extensively employs AI for personalized email and text outreach to voters, in addition to featuring an AI-powered avatar on his website.
The campaign’s chatbot, PalmerAI, showcases a lifelike representation of the candidate and simulates his voice to engage with voters in real-time as they pose questions. The interactive avatar of Palmer exhibits subtle expressions, blinking, nodding, and offering a warm smile while delivering responses tailored to the queries posed by voters.
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Palmer shared with BI, “I’ve learned that when I talk to a voter and they feel like they get to know me, there’s a very high degree of likelihood they’re going to vote for me, but if they don’t get to talk to me, then I’m just a kind of random person and they’re asking ‘who is Jason Palmer?’ like they’re all saying on the talk shows these days.” He further explained that this approach allows voters to swiftly access pertinent information without sifting through extensive content on his website.
‘It is able to figure out my position and get it sometimes better’
The candidate disclosed to BI that constructing the initial version of PalmerAI required less than $25,000, expressing satisfaction with the outcome. The chatbot materialized after Palmer dedicated hours to recording his speeches and literary excerpts to capture his distinctive voice. The campaign intends to enhance the bot’s responses as they expand operations across the 16 states and territories where Palmer’s name appears on the ballot.
While American Samoa’s residents are ineligible to vote in the general election, the territory has previously witnessed unexpected primary outcomes. Notably, in 2020, billionaire Michael Bloomberg secured his sole victory in the Democratic primaries from this region. Despite the odds, Palmer anticipates that his triumph in American Samoa will catalyze momentum for his campaign in states like Arizona, Kansas, and Missouri.
“It is able to figure out my position and get it sometimes better than even if you ask me the question. If you ask me, I’m too verbose and I take 60 seconds, but it gives you a really tight answer that’s like 10 seconds long,” Palmer remarked.
He continued, “I think most people are blown away by our campaign using this technology because it would have taken like $10 million to build five years ago. And that’s partly because AI has gotten so much better. But it’s also because I’m the first technology entrepreneur who’s ever run for president, and I’m not 80 years old, I’m actually in the prime of my entrepreneurial life.”
While the Biden campaign did not respond immediately to BI’s request for comment regarding the incumbent president’s stance on AI integration in his reelection bid, Biden previously denounced the use of AI-generated voice impersonation. This followed an incident where Biden’s voice was replicated in a robocall discouraging voter participation in the New Hampshire primary, prompting him to advocate for restrictions on such technology during his State of the Union address.
