Holograms Gain Ground in Politics, Campaigning

Politicians are beginning to embrace holograms to beam themselves to multiple audiences at once, with an actor who built his career in science fiction saying the shift is long overdue.

"Imagine the head of government being in the vicinity of your group, addressing your group, looking at your group, singling out people in the group," "Star Trek" icon William Shatner told Politico in a story published Sunday.

Shatner began using holograms in 2023 to participate remotely in conferences and other events, describing the technology in almost metaphysical terms.

"You're in the midst of the currents of conversation," he told Politico. "You're there, but you're not there. It's the secret of the future."

Years after Andrew Yang, a tech-savvy 2020 Democrat presidential candidate, tested hologram campaigning in 2019 alongside a digital representation of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, the medium is starting to make inroads in American politics.

Donna Deegan, the Democrat mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, used the technology to welcome travelers at Jacksonville International Airport, according to Politico. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, has demoed the technology.

In February, Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ashley Moody, R-Fla., used it to appear on stage at the National Association of Realtors' political conference in Las Vegas.

The technology displays a digital, life-size version of a person inside a 7-foot, glass-fronted rectangular box. It is made by Los Angeles-based Proto Hologram, a pioneer in deploying the technology across several arenas, including politics, according to Politico.

The company's chair and founder, David Nussbaum, said the field is "the ultimate use case," pointing to opportunities for speeches, debates, and campaigning.

"The next president of the United States ought to be campaigning in all 50 states simultaneously without leaving the safety and security of their own campaign headquarters," Nussbaum told Politico.

U.S. mayors are among the most eager political adopters of the technology, especially in Northern California. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, both Democrats, recently debuted airport holograms. A few years earlier, Jeffrey Mims Jr., then-mayor of Dayton, Ohio, unveiled one at the city's airport.

Several international leaders have used Proto or similar technology that Nussbaum helped develop, according to Politico. They include former Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and India's Narendra Modi, who used a hologram while first running for prime minister in 2014.

Jeff Weaver, who managed the 2016 presidential run of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told Politico that using the technology "is a height of inauthenticity."

"I'm sure ... this will pass for what they think is interacting with people — safely ensconced in an undisclosed location, surrounded by yes-men, spouting wisdom through a holographic figure," Weaver said.

"It is a height of inauthenticity, but I'm sure that many in Congress who are completely out of touch will view this as a new way to spread wisdom without actually having to shake hands and press the flesh with real people."

Proto's platform can also be used to deliver prerecorded messages, as with the hologram of Deegan. Another version allows the holographic figure, using a customized artificial intelligence model, to respond to questions or prompts from someone standing in front of the device, according to Politico.

One depicting Theodore Roosevelt is on display at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in upstate New York.

The most advanced option is a generative AI-powered hologram that can realistically convey a personality, allowing it to converse with people on nearly any subject. Nussbaum said there are guardrails to block certain topics deemed inappropriate.

One featuring Shatner was on display at Proto's offices, and the digitized image of Shatner responded to a variety of questions in English, then instantly switched to Japanese when prompted.

The midterm elections present an opportunity for Proto, but Nussbaum was coy, smiling wryly and saying only, "We're talking to some folks."