Andrew Cuomo has caught the AI bug.
Semafor wrote last month about New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushing AI-generated content criticizing his opponents as part of his now-defunct reelection campaign. A new ad for Cuomo, who is also running for mayor, uses generative video to depict the former governor as a subway operator, stock trader, stagehand, and window washer, as Cuomo narrates, “There are a lot of jobs I can’t do, but I’m ready to be your mayor.”
Adams’ use of AI — often campy and memeified — hinted at how the technology could be integrated into politics, Semafor previously wrote. Cuomo’s latest push demonstrates a more familiar path. It’s creative, direct, and doesn’t bash opponents. But it was likely much cheaper to compose compared to filming those scenes of Cuomo in person — dangling from the edge of a skyscraper on a window washing ledge, for one. It’s also one of the first cases of a politician promoting their own AI image. Where many celebrities are fighting to limit the use of their likeness, Cuomo’s ad illustrates what embracing it could look like.