A new Japanese political party has announced that it will hand over the leadership of the party to artificial intelligence (AI).
Path to Rebirth was founded by former mayor Shinji Ishimaro in January last year. The party has no formal manifesto, and members are given the freedom to set their own agenda.
Ishimaru had unexpectedly finished second in the 2024 Tokyo governor’s election due to his successful online campaign; however, he stepped down from the party leadership after his worst defeat in the recent upper house election.
The party’s new successor and 25-year-old PhD student at Kyoto University, Koki Okumura, told a news conference that the party’s new leader will now be AI.
According to him, this artificial intelligence will not control the political activities of members but will focus mostly on organizational and administrative decisions, such as the distribution of resources.
Interestingly, Okumura himself will formally remain the designated leader of the party, but practical decisions will be made by AI.
