The editor of Downcodes learned that the AI search company Perplexity has launched a new election information center to provide American voters with reliable voting information. The platform uses AI technology to provide users with AI-generated answers to voting questions, candidate summaries and other functions, and will track voting results in real time on the day of the U.S. election on November 5. The data source is the Associated Press. This marks an important step for AI technology in improving voter participation and information transparency, and also provides new possibilities for future election information dissemination. This move by Perplexity will undoubtedly have a positive impact on public participation and information acquisition in the US election.
Recently, AI search company Perplexity officially launched its newly developed election information center, designed to provide voters with reliable voting information. This platform will provide users with AI-generated answers to voting-related questions, candidate summaries and other functions, and will track voting results in real time on Election Day, November 5. The data comes from the Associated Press.
Perplexity said the data provided by the voter information center, including voting requirements, voting locations and times, are based on data from the nonprofit organization Democracy Works. It is worth mentioning that this organization also provides support for related functions of Google. Additionally, Perplexity ensures that the election-related answers it generates come from a carefully curated list of trustworthy sources, such as Ballotpedia and major news organizations.
Users simply enter an address or city to get specific information about what's on the ballot in that area. On Election Day, users can also monitor the presidential, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives elections in real time through the platform, and the voting percentages and leading candidates in each state will also be clear at a glance.
However, during testing, some of Perplexity's AI-generated candidate summaries showed errors, such as failing to mention Robert F. Kennedy, who has dropped out of the race. Separately, a candidate named "Future Mrs. Portus" appeared on the platform, but when clicked, it showed a summary of Vice President Kamala Harris and some meme images. In response to these issues, Perplexity spokesperson Sarah Plotnick said that the company is investigating the cause of the related errors.
It's worth noting that Perplexity isn't the only company trying to use AI to provide voter information. Other large AI companies, such as ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Google Gemini, have tended to turn voter information problems to other sources, demonstrating the challenges that remain with the accuracy of generative AI in high-stakes situations.
Although there are some areas for improvement, Perplexity’s election information center still represents an active attempt by AI technology to improve the efficiency of public services and information transparency. In the future, with the continuous development and improvement of technology, I believe that similar AI applications will play an important role in more fields and bring more convenience to people's lives. The editor of Downcodes will continue to pay attention to the improvement and development of Perplexity.