Show notes
2026 is the first American election where AI is shaping every link in the chain of political power — from what campaigns put in front of voters, to how voters filter what they're told, to who tech companies are trying to elect.Matt Robison sits down with Katie Harbath — 25-year veteran of the tech-politics intersection, former Facebook elections lead, and author of the upcoming book Disrupting Politics: A Front Row Seat at the Collision of Technology and Democracy (Fall 2026) — to walk through her original survey data and what she's seeing on the ground right now.We cover:Her first-of-its-kind survey of campaign professionals: 87% use AI daily, and most campaigns still have no policy governing itWhy disclosure is more complicated than "just label it" — and the research showing labels can backfireThe voter side: only 9% say they use AI for political info, but that number is misleading once you count AI answers baked into a Google searchWhy Democratic campaign staff lean Claude and Republicans lean ChatGPT and GrokHard lessons from 2016 — and the new "flood the zone" risk Katie's most worried about heading into 2026 and 2028The most underrated vulnerability in American elections: the fog-of-war period between election day and certificationWhy state legislatures — not Congress — may be the most exposed to AI industry money and influence right nowThe forgotten story of Congress eliminating its own in-house science expertise in 1994, and what it has to do with today's AI policy gridlockKatie's own verdict on whether this is the first AI election — and possibly the last one where AI isn't the dominant issue📬 Subscribe to Worth Knowing: https://worthknowing.substack.comKatie Harbath writes Anchor Change, covering the intersection of tech, politics, and democracy: https://anchorchange.substack.com⏱️ TIMESTAMPS



