AI to help third party and independent candidates?

If only. Color me skeptical of the claims in this NPR story.

Actually, by the end of the piece, I colored myself cynical, not just skeptical, and I'll explain why. 

To start with, I know who the Independent Center targets — people who want a third party because they think that Democrats are too librul as well as Republicans being too wingnut. An academic quoted in the piece notes just that:

"There's a huge chunk of people who for different reasons can't stomach either of the two parties," said David Barker, a professor of government at American University. "It's the first time in a long time where a plurality of Americans are now identifying as independents, and so that does seem to signal a pretty important shift."

In other words, this hope, of the likes of Adam Brandon at the Independent Center, is NOT about helping Greens, Socialists, Libertarians, Constitutionalists, etc.

Worse? Brandon "goes there":

"It's like Uber and taxis. You had a system with an obvious flaw, that had entrenched operators and took a radical change to go completely around it," he told NPR. "And that's what we're feeling now. People are so stuck into 'Republican' and 'Democrat' and we're like, well, there's something else."

Yeah, if you're talking techdudebro "disruption," you just lost me. (It's actually the story's author, in the lead-in to that quote, who uses the d-word of "disrupt.")

Then, there's this:

"We're political fighters," said Brandon, who served as president of FreedomWorks, the conservative grassroots group that helped turn Tea Party activists into a political force before closing its doors last year. "We have built a team of people that know how to do this. We're not going to be pushovers."

Well, if you did want to help third parties, it's not those of the left! 

Finally, since this dude and fellows of his are political consultants, I have zero doubt they're overselling what they and their proprietary AI tool can do because that's how political consultants get paid! 

Their own website doubles down on who I said they are, with this:

An effective government is one that is smaller, focused, and fit-for-purpose. We must move away from an overburdened and overreaching bureaucracy that stifles progress. Addressing our mounting debt and deficit requires bold, strategic reforms to reimagine the role of government programs.

Two words for you, Brandon, and they are: "Fuck.Off."