Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is facing pushback from prominent Democratic women in San Francisco after accusing a campaign chatbot created by California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) of being sexist.
The dispute erupted after Wiener, a Democrat running to succeed Pelosi in Congress, launched an artificial intelligence chatbot targeting his opponent, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan.
Wiener and Chan are set to face each other in November for Pelosi’s congressional seat.
The chatbot, which has since been taken down, described itself as “the world’s first AI trained to say no to anything you ask,” a jab at Chan’s record on housing and development issues.
Chan and Pelosi objected to responses generated by the chatbot that they described as racist and sexist.
Pelosi, who has endorsed Chan, accused Wiener’s campaign of misusing artificial intelligence by having the chatbot impersonate a female voice.
She described the tactic as a “gross misuse of technology” and said it demonstrated a willingness to “erase women’s agency.”
The criticism prompted Wiener to remove the chatbot, saying the controversy had become a distraction.
However, several prominent Democratic women in San Francisco are now challenging Pelosi’s characterization of the controversy.
“It feels like there’s a lot of fake outrage about this chatbot,” San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Nancy Tung told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tung suggested that the dispute had become part of the broader political battle surrounding the competitive congressional race.
“I suppose you know that’s part of the political game – to put as favorable a slant as you want to for your own purposes for each campaign,” she said.
Democratic donor and women’s advocate Susie Tompkins Buell went further, calling Pelosi’s sexism accusation “totally absurd.”
“He is the most non-sexist, non-racist person,” Buell said of Wiener. “I don’t know who would even say that.”
Buell added that if Pelosi made the accusation, “it was careless and not appropriate and not true.”
The backlash comes as women supporting Wiener planned a “Women for Scott” rally Saturday.
Pelosi has played an active role in the contest to determine who succeeds her after decades representing San Francisco in Congress.
Her endorsement helped Chan advance through the primary and into the general election against Wiener, who had long been viewed as a possible contender for Pelosi’s seat.
Reports have indicated that Pelosi and Wiener have had a tense relationship, particularly after Wiener made clear before Pelosi announced her retirement that he was interested in eventually seeking her seat.
Buell questioned Pelosi’s decision to intervene so aggressively against Wiener.
“Nobody can give a good answer of why she’s doing this,” she said. “It’s just a mystery to so many people. Whatever it is, it is rooted in pettiness.”
Pelosi avoided directly criticizing Wiener during an Aug. 11 Politico event, instead saying she backed Chan because she wanted to increase the number of women serving in Congress, per the New York Post.
Chan’s campaign pushed back against Wiener’s supporters following the criticism of Pelosi.
“It’s sad that Scott Wiener’s best answer to broad grassroots criticism of his campaign’s AI chatbot from women and people across San Francisco is to convene a rally to attack Speaker Pelosi,” a campaign spokesperson said.
Wiener previously described the sexism accusations as a “classic deflection,” though he ultimately removed the chatbot.
Despite Pelosi endorsing his opponent, Wiener has continued publicly praising the former speaker.
“I have tremendous respect for Speaker Emerita Pelosi and deep gratitude for everything she has done for our city and our country,” Wiener said after Pelosi endorsed Chan.
