How to Win Elections in the Attention Economy
6/5/202644 min
How do you build a winning campaign for the era of AI? In the aftermath of the 2024 race, Democrats have been struggling to adapt to the new logic of the attention economy. On this episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager for Kamala Harris’s campaign, joins Charlie Warzel to talk about what went wrong and how Democrats need to embrace a new theory of attention. They discuss AI’s collision course with electoral politics ahead of the midterms and how to identify candidates who can use the internet to their advantage. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
Lighting is incredibly powerful because it reaches places that we can't see. When I was at RPI, my grandmother contracted a MRSA infection in a hospital. One of the cornerstones of my RPI training was to identify real-world problems and engineer solutions accordingly. That's what led me to essentially start Vive, using light in order to kill germs in indoor environments. I don't think we would've been able to build it into a successful business without RPI.
Speaker 20:26
Learn more at rpi.edu/barraisers. So you're saying with Hilton Honors, I can use points for a free night's stay anywhere? Anywhere. What about fancy places like the Canope in Paris? Yeah. Hilton Honors, baby. Or relaxing sanctuaries like the Conrad in Tulum? Hilton Honors, baby. Ooh, what about the five-star Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives? Are you gonna do this for all 9,000 properties? When you want points that can take you anywhere, anytime, it matters where you stay. Hilton. For the stay.
Rob Flaherty· Guest0:58
Digital content is how people consume the brand of your campaign, and I think people in politics traditionally, establishment politics, miss that all the time.
Charlie Warzel· Host1:11
I'm Charlie Warzel, and this is Galaxy Brain, a show where today we're gonna talk about how to win elections in the attention economy. In the aftermath of the 2024 election during their online victory lap, right-wing influencers started repeating