The dialog is in Mandarin, and unmistakably AI-generated. A mom juggles groceries in the kitchen with tough news: Her son is leaving San Francisco. But why? New girlfriend? No, mom \u2014 new wealth tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company doesn\u2019t want to stay in California anymore,\u201d says the AI-generated son, hauling his boxes into an AI-generated moving truck.<\/p>\n
The video, released in May<\/a>, is the first AI-generated ad produced by Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan\u2019s political dark money group, Garry\u2019s List<\/a>. Under the banner of \u201cGarry\u2019s List Studios,\u201d the ad discloses its use of AI and lists its top funders as Tan, billionaire Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and Govern for California, another political group that\u2019s friendly with tech executives. In May, Garry\u2019s List spent $51,000<\/a> on TV ad buys for AI videos, according to a spokesperson and financial disclosures.<\/p>\n The initial video urged residents to vote \u201cNo\u201d on Prop. D, the \u201coverpaid CEO tax\u201d shot down by 53 percent of city voters<\/a> in the June primary. Another AI video<\/a>, posted to Instagram later that month, did the same but aimed at Spanish speakers. A third video endorsed<\/a> Phoebe Maffei for San Francisco Superior Court Judge (she won with more than 57 percent of the vote). The fourth and most recent video<\/a>, also posted to Instagram, is an AI-generated promo for Garry\u2019s List itself, vowing to decipher political issues for voters to the tune of an upbeat pop song.<\/p>\n Tan, the venture capitalist who amassed a tech-friendly political following for bashing progressives for years, said he\u2019s exploring further use of the tool.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are currently doing the research to determine which races we will engage in this November, and how,\u201d said Sam Singer, Tan\u2019s spokesman, in a statement. \u201cWith this new tool, Garry\u2019s List takes documents and proceedings that are technically public but nearly impossible for most people to follow and turns them into ads that make the issues not just accessible but understandable, and we hold ourselves to that same standard in how we communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u2019s allies are encouraged.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShort form content is in,\u201d said Griffin Lee, an organizer with ConnectedSF<\/a> who aligns with Tan on many issues. \u201cThese videos have the best shot at engaging more Gen-Z and millennials.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u2019s opponents are bemused.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great. Please keep doing it,\u201d said progressive San Francisco political consultant Daniel Anderson. \u201cIt seems like there are two things people love: political ads and AI slop. I can\u2019t imagine people will be moved on either front by these ridiculous videos. As far as I\u2019m concerned \u2014 go for it, Garry\u2019s List. Go nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n San Francisco\u2019s political experiment with the technology has only just begun. But it\u2019s already permeating civic discourse. In this year\u2019s congressional race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Scott Wiener is marketing<\/a> a Claude-powered AI chatbot designed to mock his opponent, Connie Chan, over her stances on housing and transit.\u00a0<\/p>\n On social media, dueling factions of the city\u2019s housing debate are generating AI images<\/a> of San Francisco\u00a0neighborhoods to start discussions about development restrictions, or simply to wind each other up.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this year\u2019s Los Angeles mayoral primary, AI videos boosted the unsuccessful campaign of Republican reality TV star Spencer Pratt, turning his message<\/a> into bite-sized short form video stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tan has toyed with AI in politics for some time now. Garry\u2019s List is a media venture<\/a> on top of a political machine. AI-generated art often adorns<\/a> the Garry\u2019s List website, appearing above written posts that urge techno-optimism and tough-on-crime action.\u00a0<\/p>\n People who sign up with Garry\u2019s List are promised their own<\/a> \u201cpolitical AI\u201d agent to answer questions personalized to the user\u2019s elected representatives, district, and policy positions. Tan also used AI to build the website, prompting a spat online with critics he called \u201cluddites\u201d<\/a> over the site\u2019s page speed.<\/p>\n \u201cCautiously \u2014 there can be positives here,\u201d said Mindy Romero, a political sociologist and founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy. \u201cIt means a local campaign that doesn\u2019t have money, that might be on the side of the public who would\u2019ve really struggled to get their message out without money, can all of a sudden get up to scale in a way they couldn\u2019t in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Romero warns: \u201cIf you start to create AI-generated videos that are using somebody else\u2019s likeness \u2014 then the purpose is to manipulate, which is dangerous and anti-democratic because people need truthful and accurate information.\u201d<\/p>\n As a 501(c)4 nonprofit, Garry\u2019s List can also spend money directly on candidates and ballot measures, print voter guides, host in-person events, take out ads and run educational political programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The group spent $76,000<\/a> against the failed CEO tax measure this year, including the $51,000 TV ad buy. The group also gave $15,000<\/a> to Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, a moderate political pressure group that spent $860,000<\/a> against the CEO tax and bankrolled<\/a> the 2022 recall of progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Garry\u2019s List also gave a maximum donation<\/a> of $39,200 to California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, after Becerra bested Tan\u2019s favorite, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, in the June primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Garry\u2019s List ads mark another San Francisco experiment with AI in politics \u2014 at least in Tan\u2019s own circles, for now.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the people that will engage with these videos,\u201d said Griffin Lee, \u201care people who already follow Garry.\u201d<\/p>\n \t