# Can AI help politicians actually listen?

> Swing Left uses AI and door-to-door canvassing to rebuild Democrats' image as out-of-touch elites who ignore voters.
- Title: Can AI help politicians actually listen? · Fastcompany
- Summary: Swing Left uses AI and door-to-door canvassing to rebuild Democrats' image as out-of-touch elites who ignore voters. Progressive group Swing Left is using AI…
- Keywords: swing left, democrats, artificial intelligence, voter outreach, pennsylvania, paige cognetti, rob bresnahan, ground truth, elections, help, politicians, actually
- Source: Fastcompany — https://fastcompany.com/91624480/voters-think-politicians-dont-listen-could-ai-help
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: swing left, democrats, artificial intelligence, voter outreach, pennsylvania, paige cognetti, rob bresnahan, ground truth, elections
## Democrats' listening problem
Swing Left, a progressive group, has spent a year trying to fix Democrats' image as out-of-touch elites who don't listen to voters. The group is using AI to help.
## Kim Allen's mission
Kim Allen, a sixty-four-year-old middle school Spanish teacher from New York City, volunteers with Ground Truth. She canvasses voters at East Stroudsburg University in northeast Pennsylvania on Saturdays.
## Why Democrats lost here
Allen's mission is to help Democrats reclaim a crucial House seat they lost in twenty twenty-four. She travels to East Stroudsburg to talk with voters about their concerns.
## Talking to Republicans
Allen speaks with a student who ranks herself seven on voting likelihood and eight on supporting Republicans. Ordinarily Democrats would skip Republican voters, but Allen's approach is different.
## Listen, don't sell
Allen's script tells her to help Democrats do a better job of listening to everyone, whether they always agree or not. She never gives the hard sell to voters.

> do a better job of listening to everyone, whether we always agree or not
## Eight minutes of listening
Allen listens as the student discusses her concerns about immigration. She shares her own perspective and discusses the candidates: Scranton's Democratic mayor Paige Cognetti and Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan.
## The sticker says it all
A sticker on Allen's phone reads she is only here to listen. This reflects the campaign's core message: Democrats want to understand voters' concerns, not just win their votes.

> here to listen
## Key takeaway

Progressive group Swing Left is using AI alongside volunteer canvassing to help Democrats listen to all voters, including Republicans, to reclaim a House seat lost in twenty twenty-four.