Share this @internewscast.com

A recent robocall from a fake President Joe Biden telling New Hampshire residents not to vote was almost certainly created with artificial intelligence, according to disinformation experts and people who study the technology.

The call, which the New Hampshire attorney general’s office has described as an apparent “unlawful attempt” to suppress voters from writing in Biden’s name in the state’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, is of unknown origin. Experts say it appears to be a deepfake — fake audio or video created with AI and designed to mimic real people, usually without their knowledge or consent.

“All signs point to it being a deepfake,” said Ben Colman, the CEO of Reality Defender, a company that creates software to test media files to see whether they appear artificially generated.

“We never say anything’s 100% certain, because we do not have the ground truth, but it’s highly likely manipulated,” Colman said.

The voice on the robocall, first obtained by NBC News, sounds like Biden’s, though the cadence is clipped. It’s nearly impossible to pin down which AI program would have created the audio; programs that can create a moderately convincing replication of someone’s voice are widely available as phone apps and online services, usually for free or only a small fee.

Such programs often need only a small amount of sample audio to replicate people’s voices, making it trivially easy for them to mimic a politician.

Lindsay Gorman, who studies emerging technologies and disinformation at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, said there often are tells in deepfakes, though the technology is constantly getting better.

“The cadence, particularly towards the end, seemed unnatural, robotic. That’s one of the tipoffs for a potentially faked piece of audio content,” she said.

Clearly identifying what is or isn’t a deepfake is becoming a game of cat and mouse with developers improving the technology, Gorman said.

“In the case of visual deepfakes, one signature is to be able to spot people’s eyes,” she said. “That’s generally a good tipoff, that if their eye movements are unnatural, then that could be a deepfake. But now deepfakes software has gotten better and has addressed some of the weird erratic eye movements: staring, too much blinking.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who introduced an AI legislation framework in the Senate, said he hopes the incident alerts Americans to the disinformation dangers AI can pose.

“It can be mastered in literally minutes by a neophyte. So unfortunately and tragically, that’s our future unless we act decisively,” Blumenthal told NBC News.

“I hope that the Biden deepfake, or imitation, will actually be a shock to the system and perhaps alert everyone that in fact everyone is at risk,” he said.

While federal law criminalizes knowing attempts to keep people from voting or registering to vote, there is little regulation about using AI deceptively. While some activists have pressured the Federal Election Committee to regulate deepfake ads, it still has yet to determine whether it will begin any rulemaking process around the technology, a spokesperson said.

Mekela Panditharatne, the senior counsel at the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, said that while the apparent use of deepfake technology to keep people from voting in a U.S. presidential primary may be new, using robocalls to suppress votes isn’t.

“Robocalls have historically been deployed by deceptive actors to spread false information about how, when and where to vote in an attempt to trick people out of voting,” Panditharatne said. “Voice-generation AI potentially makes that method of attempted vote suppression more attractive to fraudsters.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
2 New Yorkers struck by lightning while hiking on Colorado peak were saved in record-high state helicopter rescue

Record-Breaking Rescue: Helicopter Saves Two New Yorkers Hit by Lightning on Colorado Hike

It was a striking view. Two men from New York were struck…
Scooter rider killed in hit-and-run on Moncrief Road

Hit-and-Run on Moncrief Road Results in Fatality of Scooter Rider

Investigators say an elderly man hit a man on a scooter. JACKSONVILLE,…
Here's What We Know So Far About Deranged Assassin Who Killed 2 MN Lawmakers—and Is Still on the Run

Latest Update: Fugitive Behind the Killing of 2 Minnesota Lawmakers Still at Large

What do we know about this domestic terrorist, who is still on…
Couple walking near the Washington Monument.

Trump Parade LIVE: Gathering Crowds in Washington DC for Donald Trump’s Monumental US Army Birthday Procession

DONALD Trump is set to kick off a massive military parade in…
Buzzing cicada causes panicked Ohio driver to lose control and flip car: 'Keep the windows up'

A startled cicada causes an Ohio driver to panic, leading to a car overturn: ‘Remember to keep windows closed’

What a buzz kill! A driver in Ohio lost control of his…
US-Israeli Iran Deception: A Coordinated Strategy

Collaboration between the US and Israel: Unraveling Their Strategic Deception Towards Iran

A bold claim emerges as US-Israeli coordination allegedly deceived Iran. The Jerusalem…
Air India plane crash: Death toll rises to 270 as search teams find more bodies

Air India Plane Crash: Death Toll Increases to 270 as More Bodies Discovered by Search Teams

The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential…
From Sex Toy Parties To Hot-Spring Baptisms, ‘The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives’ Season 2 Is Giving More Sinner Than Saint

From Intimate Gatherings to Hot Spring Rituals: ‘The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives’ Season 2 Shows a Wilder Side

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast returned with a bang for…
Soldiers in camouflage uniforms holding rifles.

Despite a million Russian casualties, insiders suggest Putin won’t think twice about sending another million into the war effort.

EVIL Vladimir Putin would not think twice before flooding another million soldiers…
Anti-Trump military parade demonstrations put major cities across America on high alert

Protests Against Trump’s Military Parade Heighten Security in Major U.S. Cities

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A nationwide series of…
2 Minnesota state lawmakers shot in their homes early Saturday

Two Minnesota State Legislators Shot at Their Homes Early Saturday

CHAMPLIN, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota mayor says two state lawmakers were…
Alaska Airlines maintenance facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Warning Issued to Travelers as Security Threat Closes Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Diverts Flights

A SUSPECT is in custody after a possible security threat at Seattle-Tacoma…