EXDS s14: The Modern Political Campaign in the Age of AI

Lead Instructor: Nate Levin ’16, MPA, CEO and Founder of Campaign Brain, former Biden campaign staffer, political trainer and consultant to campaigns up and down the ballot.

This course covers the fundamentals required to plan, manage, and execute the major elements of a modern American campaign. Building skills that can be applied to all levels of the electoral process, this course includes a specific emphasis on the way artificial intelligence has played a role in past campaigns, and charts the future of AI in political campaigns. While this course focuses on practical skills, empirical political theory and relevant political science will also be applied. This is not a course in political science, but a hands-on, intensive training seminar in campaign skills. Topics include: writing a campaign plan, structuring a fundraising effort, digital campaigning, communications, and organizing. This course will also explore AI in depth, including past, current, and future applications, and the role of regulation. Our aim is to make you competent and eminently employable in the modern era of advanced campaign technology.

Learning Goals: 

  • Students can write and execute all aspects of a campaign plan
  • Students can use modern campaign tools and technologies, including various uses of AI, to drive change in their local communities
  • Students are equipped with the skills to join a campaign in 2024 and beyond in various roles
  • Students can organize their communities for voter registration, labor, and electorally
  • Apply artificial intelligence to civic technology and political campaigns