What does artificial intelligence know about polling? | #208 - December 11, 2022

Excerpts from a fun chat with a machine

Dear readers,

I am relatively sure that you, like me, are worn out by a very busy midterm election cycle and all that entails. For quantitative political journalists, that means ceaselessly issuing explanations of how polls work, constant malaise about the limits and misperceptions of election forecasting, and general dissatisfaction with the popularity of incorrect narratives about politics and elections. Such is life during the election year; It is rewarding, sometimes fun, but always exhausting work.

So this week, I’d like to do something a little different — a little less serious and a little more fun.

Extremely online readers may by now have heard of an artificial intelligence chatbot called ChatGPT. Its ability to synthesize information with some degree of accuracy promises, by some accounts, to automate the process of students writing high school and college essays, to write poetry, and maybe even dethrone Google as our Internet search overlord.

OK, that’s all impressive and whatn…