With the 2020 Presidential elections drawing closer, the country is facing a myriad of challenges that seems to be dividing both Presidential candidates and placing them on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. That said, the one common ground both sides apparently understand well is that data gathering is absolutely critical to running a successful campaign to win the White House.
Corporations realized long ago the importance of accurate data to accelerate the customer journey and create more sales opportunities, and then have apps and tools integrated into their sales and marketing infrastructure and process. Political campaigns understand the power of data as well and the importance of getting their message in front of the right people with the last two Presidential races embracing social media advertising and methods to identify and target voters.
However, both Joe Biden and President Donald Trump campaigns are taking it a step further, leveraging AI and machine learning to engage voters in election campaigns, gather information and deliver it to the right audience. Each candidate has launched their own app in order to raise money and awareness but are using the technology in slightly different ways.
For Joe Biden, his campaign has launched the “Team Joe” app. The main purpose of the app, according to the Biden campaign, is about community and for voters to share their experience and their support for the candidate with their own network. This type of relational organizing leverages the influence and personal contacts of volunteers giving the campaign access to potentially like-minded individuals.
“The Team Joe app is an organizing tool that allows you to text your friends in support of Joe and get updates from the campaign,” according to Team Joe app website. “We’ll let you know which of your friends and family members we’re hoping to talk to. You can then text them directly to share campaign updates, ask questions, and gather their thoughts on the 2020 race on behalf of our campaign.”
When someone downloads the app they are then prompted to share their contact list and that list is then cross-referenced with the Democratic party’s voter files. The program can identify individuals who are prime targets to receive personal messages from the user on behalf of the campaign therefore potentially creating a more intimate relationship with the candidate.
For his part, President Trump’s campaign app is mainly focused on pushing out his policy messages and gathering as much data from as many potential voters as possible. The Official Trump 2020 app, which was launched in April, has been downloaded more than 780,000 times, according to the measurement service Apptopia.
The app has “News” and “Social” tabs that contain selected tweets and stories that support the President’s policies. It also pushes users to check out the online broadcasts the campaign was holding nightly after each White House coronavirus task force briefing.
However, the main purpose of the app is to collect data, data, and more data, and then have intuitive AI programs analyze this information to reach as many potential supporters with his message. Users must provide their phone number, name, email address, and zip code. The campaign estimates it will collect the cell-phone numbers of 40 to 50 million voters, according to published reports.
MIT Technology Review, which evaluated both apps said Trump’s “Data collection is perhaps the most powerful thing the Trump 2020 app does. On signing up, users are required to provide a phone number for a verification code, as well as their full name, email address, and zip code. They are also highly encouraged to share the app with their existing contacts. This is part of a campaign strategy for reaching the 40 to 50 million citizens expected to vote for Trump’s reelection: to put it bluntly, the campaign says it intends to collect every single one of these voters’ cell-phone numbers. This strategy means the app also makes extensive permission requests, asking for access to location data, phone identity, and control over the handset’s Bluetooth function.”
It went on to say the Trump campaign app is a “voter surveillance tool” with “extraordinary power.”