The Democratic consultant behind a controversial New Hampshire ad that used the "deep-faked" voice of President Joe Biden telling people not to show up to vote in the primary has been indicted on state charges.
According to NBC News, the consultant, Steve Kramer, "faces five counts, including bribery, intimidation and suppression, according to Manchester TV station WMUR, which first reported the indictment. It is unclear how he is pleading to the charges."
"The robocall, which was first reported by NBC News and went out to thousands of New Hampshire voters in January, just ahead of the state's first-in-the-nation presidential primary, used artificial intelligence technology to deepfake the president, telling voters to stay home and 'save' their votes for the November general election," reported Alex Seitz-Wald. "The call was the first known example of a deepfake used in national American politics. It prompted outcry from officials and watch dogs, propelling the Federal Communications Commission to put forward a new rule banning unsolicited AI robocalls."
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Prior to Kramer's indictment, New Hampshire also indicted two out-of-state telecommunications companies that helped transmit the robocall. Kramer's identity became known when a street magician he hired to help craft the ad came forward.
"Paul Carpenter, who holds a world record in straitjacket escapes but no fixed address, said he was hired by Kramer to create the audio of Biden's voice used in the call, providing screen shots of text messages and Venmo transactions to corroborate his account," noted the report. "Confronted with the evidence, Kramer admitted that he commissioned the call, but he insisted he only did it to prompt stricter regulations of AI deep fakes."
The use of new AI technology has become a Wild West as the tools have developed rapidly, testing legal situations that have never happened before.
In another incident that exploded into public consciousness this week, the company OpenAI found itself in hot water after developing a synthetic voice allegedly made to sound like actress Scarlett Johansson, despite her having declined to be involved with the project.
