AI and the Midterm Elections

Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/07/2026
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

This panel is organized by the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP).

This panel will explore the many ways that artificial intelligence is shaping the politics and practice of the U.S. midterm elections. Experts and practitioners will discuss how campaigns use AI to generate content, how voters seek out information about candidates and how the construction of data centers raises fears about labor displacement, among other local concerns. Along the way, panelists will consider what AI is and isn’t, the many claims made about AI by various stakeholders, the industries and labor that make AI possible and the sweeping political, economic, labor and environmental implications of these technologies.

Panel Participants:

Scott Brennen

Dr. Scott Brennen is director of NYU’s Center on Technology Policy and a policy research affiliate with the Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics. His research focuses on technology policy, online expression, misinformation and the relationship between media, science and technology. He previously held research and policy roles at UNC, Duke University and the University of Oxford.

Rob Flaherty

Rob Flaherty is a political strategist who served as deputy campaign manager for President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign. He previously served as White House director of digital strategy and held senior digital roles with Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign, Priorities USA and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Flaherty began his career working on local campaigns in New York and is a 2013 graduate of Ithaca College.

Sourojit Ghosh

Dr. Sourojit Ghosh is the founding director of the UNSEEN Lab at UNC-Chapel Hill, a faculty member in the School of Data and Information Sciences and a faculty researcher within CITAP. His research examines how generative AI can perpetuate systemic inequities and harm historically marginalized communities.

Vivi Ito

Vivi Ito is a Ph.D. student in Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill, a Google PhD Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction and a Graduate Affiliate at CITAP. Her research examines how people find and trust health information in the evolving AI landscape. She holds a BA and an MA in Linguistics from the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Daniel Kreiss

Dr. Daniel Kreiss is the Edgar Thomas Cato Distinguished Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and principal investigator within CITAP. He teaches political communication, directs the school’s Political Communication Certificate and is an affiliated fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.

Shannon C. McGregor 

Dr. Shannon C. McGregor is an associate professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and a principal investigator within CITAP. Her research examines the role of media and social media in political processes, with a focus on politicians, journalists and the public.

This event is part of UNC’s First Amendment Day and is free and open to the public. Students can earn Campus Life Experience (CLE) credit.