The Center for Politics hosted Tom Perriello, Democratic nominee for Virginia’s fifth congressional district in the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, Monday to speak on the role of artificial intelligence in public policy and the workforce. Larry Sabato, founder and director of the Center and the University Politics professor, began the discussion by introducing Perriello.
At the event, titled “The Deep Divide Between How the People and the Powerful Are Thinking About AI,” Perriello also referenced his Sept. 22 article “To Wary Working People, AI Preemption Is the New Nafta” in The New Republic during his discussion, which touches on the importance of AI to voters. The discussion ended with a Q&A portion.
VA-05 comprises the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, along with other counties from central to southern Virginia. University students who choose to register to vote with their Charlottesville address will vote in this district.
Perriello focused on the role of AI in American society and according to Perriello, AI presents a “level of disruption” with “no precedent in human history.”
“[AI] is something close to a combination of the invention of fire, the wheel and the printing press all at the same time,” Perriello said. “Great periods of change can create amazing progress, but the vast majority of major technological breakthroughs have actually produced civil wars and world wars.”
When he began his campaign in December, Perriello did not want to mention AI until he had addressed concerns such as gas, groceries and childcare so his constituents could better trust him, he said. However, he emphasized that since the first day of his campaign, people have asked him questions about the technology.
Perriello noted that people are having “two different conversations” over AI in the U.S. The first conversation, Perriello said, is the one happening in Washington and Silicon Valley, where AI is treated as a new, exceptional technology. The second conversation is happening among voters, whom Perriello said feel like neither party has the courage to take on AI.
“Not surprisingly, these are issues that don’t fit neatly into the red team or the blue team,” Perriello said. “[This conversation is] an accelerant of issues with people feeling less and less agency over their democracy, and quite frankly, over their lives.”
Further, Perriello said he believes that hopes for AI can coexist with these concerns, as the technology may one day create new opportunities such as curing diseases. However, Perriello said many who discuss AI’s future are not working towards its practical use, but instead are working towards accumulating as much data as possible. According to Perriello, neither company executives nor government officials are willing to change how AI operates within their companies, and the U.S. does not have leaders who are “up to speed” on the challenges that the country faces today or will face in the future.
Aside from AI, Perriello also explained the history of the VA-05 seat and the historical role of the U.S. House of Representatives. According to Perriello, the VA-05 seat was first held by James Madison, and the House represented a system of checks and balances against authoritarianism.
“In the original Constitution … the only office directly elected by the people was the House of Representatives," Perriello said. “That’s really an important thing to keep in perspective when it comes to the stakes of this [upcoming general] election.”
Perriello then shared his thoughts on several actions the House should currently be taking, including removing tariff authority and the ability to declare war from the president. Perriello said he believes regulatory actions such as these will help restore the role of Congress in playing an equal part in important policy decisions as the president.
“This [election cycle] is more than just being a Democrat who wants to check a Republican president. This is a generational failure of Congress to do its job,” Perriello said.
Perriello also explained how the U.S.’s role in the global economy has recently changed, with the U.S. losing its competitive advantage in manufacturing. For example, Perriello said that while the U.S. once dominated the electric vehicle market about two years ago, it took less than six months for the Trump administration to turn the electric vehicle market over to China. Perriello said that because of trade wars, “every single country in Europe and Canada” now imports electric vehicles from China.
“A president that’s abusing that tariff authority in that way, at the expense of American workers, at the expense of Americans’ competitive advantage, is the kind of thing that Congress is supposed to be there to check,” Perriello said.
To conclude his prepared discussion, Perriello spoke about how young people are “living in the most interesting times.” Perriello said the academic debates over human agency and the existence of the human soul are no longer hypothetical, but a part of the decision in the design of AI.
“I hope all of you engage with this, not from the standpoint of Democrats or Republicans, but as young people determined to have a future with a real shot at an American dream that leaves no region, no race, and no generation behind,” Perriello said.
Many students from the course PLAP 4360 “Campaigns and Elections” taught by Sabato and Ken Stroupe, associate director and chief of staff at the Center, attended the discussion as a component of the course.
During the Q&A, Leo Johnson, PLAP 4360 student and third-year College student, asked Perriello about how AI can be legislated and adjudicated if no precedent on the technology exists.
Perriello responded that the U.S. has a system in which product liability creates the incentive for companies to create safe products, and that AI companies should not be exempt from the precedent when their products cause harm.
At the end of the Q&A, Perriello emphasized the potential and creativity that comes with AI and encouraged the audience to vote, and specifically, to vote early.
“Democracy is not a spectator sport, it’s won by the people that show up, whether it’s for me or for someone else,” Perriello said.
During the introduction, Sabato said that the Center has invited U.S. Rep John McGuire (R), current representative of the 5th Congressional District, to speak at the Center, though a time for this event has not yet been set. Additionally, Sabato said the Center will be hosting Bert Mizusawa, Virginia’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and retired U.S. Army major general, Oct. 21. The Center previously hosted U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, (D-Va.), the incumbent for the general election, April 11.
The general election in Virginia will occur Nov. 3, and the early voting period began Sept. 18 and will run until Oct. 31.
Melody Yuan is a staff writer on the news desk. She is a second-year College student studying economics and statistics from Richmond.
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