Hologram for the People

The 2020 race for the White House is already teeming with drama and intrigued, as happens when there are 20 — and possibly more — candidates.

Each is looking to stake a claim and make their mark. But with many states to campaign in, and little time to do so, how can politicians be in more than one place at a time? Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has an idea: stump speech via hologram.

Beam me up

Yang — a recently confirmed Futurism fan — is no stranger to new ideas, considering his signature campaign promise of a guaranteed universal basic income program.

On Wednesday, Yang alluded to another futuristic idea with a plan to campaign using a holographic presence. He dropped the concept during a segment on TMZ, as spotted by eagle-eyed reporters at The Hill. During the segment, Yang can be seen showing off his hologram next to a Tupac hologram.

Me trying out being a hologram with hologram Tupac 👍 pic.twitter.com/IclQvAa27z — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) April 11, 2019

In a recent interview with Iowa newspaper the Carroll Times Herald, Yang explained the hologram is “tied into the message of the campaign around the fact that it is 2019, and soon it will be 2020, and things are changing, and we can’t just keep doing the same things over and over again and expect it to achieve the results we need.”

Andrew Yang, Hologram

While other presidential hopefuls have similarly unconventional plans to lighten the logistical burden of campaigning, Yang’s use of a hologram could allow him to be in many places at once, streaming in from a studio to answer questions live.

At the very least, Yang’s technological push comes at a time where the role of technology in everyday life is being questioned. Politicians are taking stock of the presence of technology in our lives and, for better or worse, shaping a vision of our future that includes possibilities like Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s ambitious plan to break up tech giants, or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s gambit to balance a sustainable future with a technological vision.

READ MORE: Andrew Yang unveils plans to campaign remotely using a 3D hologram [The Verge]

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