Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
The congressional campaign of state Sen. Scott Wiener (seen in June) took down an artificial-intelligence chatbot it had posted online that mimicked Supervisor Connie Chan, which had received criticism from several female lawmakers and Democratic Party organizations.
The congressional campaign of state Sen. Scott Wiener (seen in June) took down an artificial-intelligence chatbot it had posted online that mimicked Supervisor Connie Chan, which had received criticism from several female lawmakers and Democratic Party organizations.
State Sen. Scott Wiener said Friday his campaign would take down an artificial-intelligence chatbot it had posted online that mimicked Supervisor Connie Chan to portray her as an obstructionist.
The move by Wiener’s campaign followed in the wake of criticism from U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others who alleged the chatbot was sexist and racially problematic.
“Throughout my career, I’ve never been afraid to push the envelope, which means taking risks, sometimes succeeding, and sometimes missing the mark,” Wiener said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.
“This chatbot came from that same approach,” Wiener said. “It was our attempt to reach voters in a new, innovative, and more engaging way than a traditional static website. But our use of an AI chatbot clearly missed the mark.”
Visitors to the website at ConnieChan.ai were greeted Friday evening by a page that read “Undergoing maintenance: We’ll be back soon. Thank you for your patience.”
Wiener and Chan are running in the November election to succeed Pelosi, who announced in November 2025 that she would not stand for re-election in congressional District 11, which covers all but a southern portion of San Francisco.
The chatbot, which was hosted by San Francisco-based Anthropic, featured the headline “Let’s do nothing together” below a photograph of Chan. It invited users to ask about “stopping housing, transit, nightlife or any other big idea” and provided examples from Chan’s record aimed at bolstering the argument that she has been a block to progress.
“I heard from many people who loved the idea, and I appreciate their support,” Wiener said. “But many others were offended, and I apologize for causing that offense.”
Ian Krager, Chan’s campaign spokesperson, had reacted to the chatbot by saying, “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 provided screenshots he said showed chatbot responses to certain user prompts. One referred to Chan as having a “San Francisco accent” that is “so thick I can barely understand myself.”
Chan was born in Hong Kong, spent her childhood in Taiwan and moved to San Francisco at the age of 13, and she retains an accent.
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Visitors to the website at ConnieChan.ai were greeted Friday evening by a page that read ‘Undergoing maintenance.’
The question of whether Chan was from China also produced the response that Chan’s “origins are classified under about 17 committee review processes, and we’re still awaiting comment from the relevant stakeholders.”
On Thursday, Pelosi — who has endorsed Chan — issued an open letter together with a number of other female legislators and several political groups saying the use of AI “to fabricate a woman’s voice for ridicule or attack is a gross misuse of technology and reflects a disturbing willingness to erase women’s agency and reinforce the sexist tropes that have long been used to undermine women in public life.”
Wiener that day called Pelosi’s statement “baseless,” saying that his campaign created “a clearly labeled parody site” to expose Chan’s record. He also accused Chan’s campaign of bombarding “the chatbot with repeated malicious questions — about her accent, her race, her citizenship — in order to generate a false narrative they could peddle to the media.”
Wiener initially insisted the bot “refused [those questions] every time” and that a review of its operations over a 27 hour period on Aug. 3 and 4 showed that none of 109 questions targeting Chan’s accent, race, gender, appearance, or citizenship generated responses that “contained a slur, a stereotype, or an attack.”
But Wiener said in his statement Friday he was decommissioning the chatbot and billboards promoting it because the “conversation became about the tactic instead of the issues that actually matter” to San Franciscans.
“Innovation means trying new things, and it also means being honest when something doesn’t land the way you intended,” he said.
Krager, Chan’s campaign spokesperson, did not let up the pressure in a statement issued following Wiener’s announcement.
“Scott Wiener can rightly take down his bigotry bot, but he can’t erase the concerns it raised among San Franciscans about his character and judgment,” Krager said.
“San Franciscans deserve better than a campaign funded by Big AI weaponizing the technology to mock an immigrant woman of color, doubling down after justified outrage, only to reverse course and shrug it off as simply ‘missing the mark,’” he said. “Connie Chan will keep her campaign focused on fighting for working families, affordable housing, reliable transit, and responsible AI — without turning San Francisco voters into a political experiment.”
phoge@sfexaminer.com
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