Harnessing AI to create inclusive election manifestos

POLITICAL parties should consider a new approach in developing their election manifestos – one that is more participatory, inclusive and grounded in fiscal reality. Artificial intelligence (AI) could make this highly possible.

Manifestos are usually drafted by party leadership, advisers and selected experts behind closed doors. While these individuals may have the best intentions, the resulting documents may not fully capture the diverse aspirations of ordinary Malaysians.

Furthermore, manifesto promises are often criticised for being overly ambitious, thin on implementation details or do not consider budgetary constraints.

Political parties could address these concerns by opening their manifesto development process to public participation through digital platforms. Malaysians from all walks of life could be invited to propose ideas, identify pressing issues and prioritise policy interventions that matter most to them.

Such consultations could be structured to ensure representation from different states, age groups, socioeconomic backgrounds and communities. The objective should be to ensure that no segment of the population is inadvertently overlooked.

AI systems can efficiently process thousands of submissions, identify recurring themes, detect regional differences in priorities and cluster similar proposals together.

More importantly, AI tools can be integrated with economic models and publicly available government data to assess the feasibility of proposed policies.

For example, if citizens advocate for expanded healthcare subsidies, improved public transport or enhanced support for caregivers, AI-assisted analysis could estimate the potential costs, identify possible funding sources and evaluate trade-offs with other expenditure priorities.

An AI-assisted manifesto process could also improve transparency. Political parties could publicly explain why certain proposals were adopted, modified or deferred.

Of course, AI should not replace human judgement. Decisions on values, principles and national direction must remain the responsibility of elected leaders and the democratic process.

By combining broad public participation with responsible use of AI, political parties can develop manifestos that are more representative of the people’s aspirations while remaining realistic and implementable.

CONCERNED CITIZEN

Cyberjaya