Virginia GOP Candidate Debates AI Replica on YouTube

Republican John Reid posted a 40-minute YouTube event titled The Debate That Should Have Happened in which he answered live while an AI-generated version of Democratic Sen. Ghazala Hashmi—presented as a static image with a robotic voice—gave short, preprogrammed replies. Reid’s campaign says each AI response was sourced from Hashmi’s public statements and interviews to create a one-take contrast after she declined multiple debate invitations. A prerecorded moderator prompted topics and Reid responded unscripted on issues including minimum wage, electric vehicles and education. Hashmi’s campaign and the Virginia Democratic Party called the stunt a “shoddy gimmick,” while AI experts warned the lightly regulated technology can blur what viewers perceive as real. The episode revived debate over campaign use of AI and transparency and follows other instances of AI bots appearing in Virginia races.