Scott Wiener Pulls AI Chatbot After 27 Hours, Apologizes to Connie Chan
Updated
Updated · Mission Local · Aug 8
Scott Wiener Pulls AI Chatbot After 27 Hours, Apologizes to Connie Chan
3 articles · Updated · Mission Local · Aug 8
Summary
Three hours after a crisis consultant urged him to scrap it, Scott Wiener shut down his anti-Connie Chan AI chatbot and apologized, saying the tactic “missed the mark” and caused offense.
The bot, launched Monday to parody Chan’s legislative record, drew 5,058 questions in 27 hours before backlash shifted attention from policy to campaign tactics; Wiener also said two Richmond District billboards will come down.
Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and other officials condemned the chatbot, while Chan’s campaign said removing the “bigotry bot” does not erase concerns about Wiener’s judgment and ties to Big AI.
Some strategists said the episode still gave Wiener a highly visible negative hit on Chan that expensive TV ads might not have matched, even as others argued it reinforced vulnerabilities with tech critics and Chinese community voters.