Initiatives
Artificial Intelligence That Puts People First
Many politicians and the infrastructures that support them are still searching for the most effective way to engage voters on artificial intelligence. While debates about data centers, energy use, and worker protections have dominated much of the conversation, other critical areas are ignored or pushed aside. AI itself is broadly viewed as a useful technology with the potential to improve products, services, and economic growth. Voters’ biggest concerns are not about the technology itself, but about whether powerful forces will use it in ways that benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else.
At a moment when concerns about affordability and corporate profit-seeking continue to shape the political landscape, we can focus attention on how corporations and their allies in government are deploying AI to cut services, maximize profits, and raise prices on consumers.
American Horizon takes a more holistic approach, grounded in Americans' concerns. Backed by the latest qualitative and quantitative research, we prioritize messages and policies focused on corporate and government accountability that deliver for the American people.
One clear first step is preventing health insurance companies from using AI to deny patient claims, including on Medicare. The research finds voters are deeply troubled by having a machine, not their doctor, decide whether they get access to health care, and conclude this will all lead to higher costs and even more denials. When Americans are informed this is already happening in Medicare, they are deeply troubled both for current beneficiaries and their future access to care.
On The Horizon
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Karl Rove once predicted a permanent Republican majority. Years later, pundits argued that demographic “destiny,” would ensure a long-term Democratic majority. Both were wrong.
Like the rest of society, politics and the way we communicate are changing fast. Americans have lost trust in almost every institution and echo chambers fueled by fear and anger make this even more difficult. It’s time for a fresh, focused, and hard look at how we build a winning coalition based on a strong economic message. We will use our research to create effective broadcast messages across class, race, gender, age, geography, levels of political engagement, and how voters get their news and information. We will also be clear-headed about where differences exist and how we can best address them while holding the coalition together. This research will include:
Shifting from the misuse of microtargeting to building a broader, coalition-building economic message that cuts across urban centers, growing suburbs, rural communities, and union households.
Focusing on a quality-of-life framework to include extensive research on forward-looking, bold, and contrast-drawing messaging around economic opportunity, affordability, housing, healthcare, education, insurance, and more.
Measuring the efficacy of broadcast economic messages as a counter to other issues.
Mapping the structural requirements for a winning coalition in the 2028, 2030, and 2032 cycles.
Examining differences between those who actively seek out news and those who do not, as well as those who see politics as an important part of their identity and those who do not.
Determining what is required to build sustainable, governing majorities which require Democrats to win in districts and states where we haven’t won for over a decade.
Rejecting outdated views of who is a “persuadable” and who is a “GOTV voter” that is responsible for a decline in vote share among Black, Hispanic/Latino and White working class voters.
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Reclaiming the mantle of effective government, aggressive corporate oversight, and cleaning up the mess in Washington, DC, to include:
An anti-corruption platform.
A more holistic approach on the intersection between “democracy" and economic messaging.
Moving from an argument of Big vs. Small Government to a focus on Good Government, which includes a range of reforms demonstrating a firm commitment to not simply rebuilding what Trump has torn down in the same old way, an acknowledgment that voters are not looking for a return to the status quo.
Bold proposals that reflect a rapidly changing economy, a public service guarantee around government services, and related initiatives.
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Elected officials and campaigns have failed to make education a core issue despite increasing anxiety across demographic and ideological divides. We will focus on how we can use education to drive electoral participation and move vote share. We will cover a range of issues, including learning loss, steep declines in reading and math, the impact of AI and technology, and incentivizing excellence.
We will explore what it means to modernize the promise of education from “college for all” to multiple pathways to prosperity—elevating trade schools, tech certifications, and union apprenticeships to the same status as a four-year degree.
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Given the wide swing of Gen Z votes over the last three years, and their growth as a percentage of the population and electorate, we will explore and address their concerns, anxieties, fears, and political perspectives. They will be a critical part of all phases of our research and it will begin with listening to them about how they view what is on the horizon.
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We have an opportunity and strategic imperative to engage religious voters open to a strong, values-based Democratic message. Too many campaigns overlook effectively communicating with these voters. Even worse, others treat them as some sort of monolith or caricature. Contrary to the beliefs of too many in the media and within our party, Democratic principles and those of communities of faith are not in inherent conflict. In fact, the exact opposite is true.We will launch quantitative and qualitative research to explore how we can effectively communicate with these voters.