Nancy Pelosi’s pick for Congress skewered by AI chatbot

AI is supposed to solve our problems — and a cheeky new chatbot says Connie Chan is one of them.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener launched a parody artificial intelligence chatbot this week mocking his rival Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, escalating the bitter fight between the two Democrats seeking to succeed longtime Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress.

The website ConnieChan.ai bills itself as “the world’s first AI trained to say no to anything you ask,” a knock on Chan’s reputation among critics as a progressive NIMBY who has opposed numerous housing proposals.

Wiener’s campaign, which raked in cash this summer after the candidate was chased out a trans march during Pride month, said the chatbot was designed to capitalize on the city’s booming AI craze while highlighting what it describes as Chan’s obstructionist record.

“No lies were told in the making of this AI chatbot. This is 100% Connie Chan’s record of blocking all progress in San Francisco, packaged in an easy to use tool for voters,” said Joe Arellano, a spokesman for Wiener’s campaign.

“We created ConnieChan.ai to lean into the AI craze overtaking the city and creatively reach voters with a product that stands out, highlights Connie’s long record of obstruction, and lets us all do nothing … together.”

The launch comes as Wiener has increasingly leaned into his role as one of California’s leading lawmakers on AI regulatory policy.

“Scott wrote the landmark AI safety laws serving as the model for the rest of the country. He’s been thinking about workers and safety and delivering on these issues for years. He won’t be learning on the job like Supervisor Chan,” Arellano said.

Chan’s campaign, which has the endorsement of the retiring Pelosi, blasted the chatbot as racist and offensive to women, and accused Wiener of allowing the technology to traffic in offensive stereotypes.

“If there was ever any doubt that Scott Wiener is bought and paid for by Big AI, he’s not even trying to hide it anymore,” said Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Chan, who was born in Hong Kong.

“We know Wiener is desperate for attention, but it’s never a good idea for a man to put words in a woman’s mouth — especially when they are falsities fraught with racist and sexist undertones.”

Krager, who is on hiatus from Pelosi’s office to help Chan’s campaign, also accused Wiener of cozying up to corporate money and Big AI as their “Yes Man.”

“In this campaign, Connie will keep talking about the issues that matter to San Franciscans: lowering costs for working families, standing up to powerful special interests, and delivering results for San Francisco,” Krager said. “Voters deserve better than the tired and trite slop Scott Wiener is offering.”

The exchange also renews scrutiny of Wiener’s ties to the AI industry.

Earlier this year, Public First Action — a super PAC backed by AI company Anthropic — entered the race and committed $500,000 to supporting Wiener, according to Politico.

Wiener’s campaign reported having more than $1.2 million in cash at the end of June, according to federal election filings, while Chan’s campaign had just over $362,000.

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