Debate Bot
An experimental election debate game that allows users to ask candidates questions and receive simulated answers to learn about positions.
Challenge
In an age of information overload and rampant misinformation, many voters struggle to cut through the noise and understand where political candidates actually stand on the issues.
Traditional media coverage and political advertising often obscure more than they reveal. Despite the abundance of available information, most voters lack the time or interest to meaningfully engage and parse through it all, especially at the state and local level. This poses a serious barrier to informed participation in democratic processes.
Solution
Debate Bot is a voter education game that puts users in the role of debate moderator, so they can ask the questions that matter most to them.
The app uses a gen AI model trained on historical speeches, interviews, and voting records to simulate likely candidate responses. By giving users the mic, DebateBot transforms dense political information into a fun, interactive experience. Users can compare side-by-side answers, test their alignment with candidates, and explore issues in an accessible, gamified environment.
Debate Bot was piloted as part of the Washington State gubernatorial race. The app received positive engagement metrics and feedback, demonstrating its promise as a tool for voter education in future elections. However, like any ambitious and experimental project, it was not without its challenges.
After initially planning to support the presidential election, the team had to pivot due to limitations imposed by our C3 status as an organization. The presidential election was ripe with misinformation and hate speech. Attempts to flag it within the DebateBot experience could have been perceived as partisan, but not flagging it would be incredibly harmful. To be effective in broader elections, DebateBot must be stewarded by an entity that is deeply non-partisan and dedicated to election integrity, but is not bound by these restrictions.
Key Features
Credible Source Citations: The app is built on a foundation of accuracy. Every answer provided by the bot comes directly from the candidates’ verbal expressions, ensuring that users can trust the information they receive. Debate Bot even includes citations with timestamps from YouTube and other video sources, which, though limited by YouTube’s playlist restrictions, were a valuable addition to the tool.
Nonpartisan, High-Quality Responses: The bot is designed to exercise discretion in its responses, meaning it understands when not to provide an answer based on a candidate’s political stance. It’s programmed to represent each candidate’s position fairly and accurately, offering a balanced perspective that enables users to compare the candidates’ views side by side.
Leaderboard Stats Page: Debate Bot’s leaderboard feature tracks the most popular questions, as well as the candidates’ overall standing based on user interactions. This feature not only provides a fun way for users to see how the debate is shaping up, but also offers insights into which issues are top of mind for voters.
