Using Generative AI to Strengthen Democracy: A Jamaican Experiment
As Jamaica prepares for its upcoming General Election, Section 9 Social Good AI Lab has been experimenting with a bold idea: how can generative AI be used to strengthen democracy by making political information more accessible, inclusive, and understandable for everyone?
From Manifestos to Multimedia
Traditionally, political manifestos are long, text-heavy documents that many citizens never read in full. Yet they contain crucial promises and policies that affect every Jamaican. To bridge this gap, our team worked with the manifestos of the two main political parties—the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP), and reimagined them using generative AI, courtesy of Google’s NotebookLM too.
We converted the manifestos into:
Interactive podcasts for those who prefer listening on the go
Mind maps that present complex policies in simple, visual structures
Explainer summaries that break down commitments into clear, digestible formats
Video explainers that use visual storytelling to engage younger audiences and those with different learning styles
Link to the Notebook below
Breaking the Language Barrier
Jamaica is a diverse society, and our democracy must reflect that. To ensure broader understanding, we translated these resources into:
The top 10 languages spoken in Jamaica, including English, Spanish, and Chinese
An additional 15 languages such as Hindi, Japanese, German, Afrikaans, and others, so diaspora communities and ethnic minorities can access information in their first language
This multilingual experiment makes it possible for every Jamaican, regardless of ethnicity or background, to engage meaningfully with the policies shaping their future.
Why This Matters
The benefits of this approach are clear:
Accessibility: Citizens can engage with political content in the format that suits them best.
Inclusion: Ethnic minorities and diaspora communities gain equal access to election information.
Clarity: Complex policy documents become easy to explore and compare.
Engagement: By meeting people where they are—whether through audio, video, or visuals—we make democracy more participatory.
What’s Next
This is only the beginning. Our next steps focus on expanding inclusivity further by adapting AI tools for:
Visually impaired persons through advanced screen-reader compatible formats
Auditory impaired persons with AI-driven captioning and sign-language support
People with learning disabilities via simplified summaries and adaptive learning formats
To do this effectively, our Section 9 team is actively studying the national distribution of accessibility needs so that AI solutions are not generic, but tailored to the real people who need them most.
Towards an Inclusive Future
Democracy thrives when everyone has a voice. By experimenting with AI in this election cycle, we’re testing what it might look like when technology is harnessed not to divide, but to empower.
We’re sharing these outputs publicly and inviting feedback from Jamaicans everywhere. Your insights will help us refine these tools and ensure AI continues to serve democracy in meaningful, people-centered ways.
At Section 9 Social Good AI Lab, our mission is clear: AI must serve humanity, and democracy is one of the most important places to start.
