How did AI deepfakes threaten the 2024 elections?
An AI-cloned voice of President Biden urged voters not to vote - and it was just the beginning of election-year AI chaos.
The answer
In January 2024, New Hampshire voters received robocalls featuring an AI-generated clone of President Biden's voice urging them to skip the primary. Political consultant Steve Kramer commissioned the deepfake and faced a $6 million FCC fine plus 26 criminal charges for voter intimidation. Telecom provider Lingo paid a $1 million penalty for transmitting the calls. The FCC subsequently ruled all AI-generated voice robocalls illegal. Globally, over 60 countries held elections in 2024, and AI-generated deepfakes appeared in campaigns across India, Indonesia, and the UK, prompting urgent calls for AI content authentication standards.
Source: NPR
- deepfakes
- elections
- disinformation
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