One of the more unsettling political ads of 2020 came from Change the Ref, a nonprofit founded by the parents of Joaquin Oliver, known as “Guac,” who was murdered in the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. After an introduction by the parents, words appear on the screen saying that “we used artificial intelligence to bring [Joaquin] back for one last message.” We then see a teenage boy who says “Yo, it’s me. It’s Guac!” The AI footage looks like it could be from a cell phone or inexpensive digital camera; the voice and physical mannerisms are those of a teenage boy. “The election in November is the first one I could’ve voted in,” he says. But, he tells the audience, since he is dead “you’ve got to replace my vote” — by electing politicians that will curb gun violence in America.
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