AI, fake robocalls prompt warning ahead of South Carolina primary election
Primary voters in South Carolina are being warned about fake robocalls generated by artificial intelligence.
Primary voters in South Carolina are being warned about fake robocalls generated by artificial intelligence.
Primary voters in South Carolina are being warned about fake robocalls generated by artificial intelligence.
Primary voters in South Carolina are being told be vigilant against attempts of high tech trickery to influence who they want as a presidential nominee.
The warning comes after someone used artificial intelligence to create a fake recording of President Biden’s voice for a robocall in New Hampshire, telling supporters not to go to the polls.
“(It) was not the president. That was fake and it was certainly not recorded by this President, okay?” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean–Pierre when questioned about the recording's authenticity.
If the robocalls happened in New Hampshire, then artificial intelligence advocates warns South Carolina could be next.
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“I think it's very possible. Yes” said Rijul Gupta, CEO of DeepMedia, Inc.
Gupta made a dire political prediction about bad actors using generative artificial intelligence in the upcoming presidential election.
Gupta said “the 2024 election is going to be the deep fake election.”
His team of experts at DeepMedia was able to debunk the New Hampshire robocalls as an artificial intelligence version of Biden’s voice.
“He says words like malarkey and Democrat and even words like V and the pacing, the length of those words, the pauses in between these words is clearly indicative of an AI generated voice” said Gupta.
WJCL 22 News emailed both South Carolina Democratic and Republican state parties to ask if they were concerned and on guard about someone trying to use unauthorized AI generated voice of either candidates to influence voters.
A spokeswoman with the state Democratic party said it does not have a plan but will be vigilant. It has a established a hotline for concerns voters might have about any issue.
The Republican National Committee said it is keeping a watchful eye for misinformation in South Carolina and other states.
"Look, this is part of our effort to make sure that voters have all the information that they need. There's nothing specific I can speak to in terms of a threat or an example. I know of that happening currently. But if that were to happen, part of it is correcting the record, speaking to voters, being on the ground and talking to voters” said Tommy Pigott, strategic communications director for the RNC.
Gupta’s advice to primary voters is simple.
“To voters in South Carolina, you can no longer trust what you see and what you hear. Anything that you see or hear, unless it's been validated by a reputable news organization.”
The New Hampshire Republican Attorney General is he will investigate the fake robocalls.
As to who is responsible for those calls, authorities in New Hampshire don’t know and neither does Gupta of DeepMedia.