Artificial Intelligence

1440 -  A leading voting rights organization filed suit yesterday against a Democratic political consultant accused of using AI-powered robocalls impersonating President Joe Biden in an effort to dampen turnout in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. The suit, led by the League of Women Voters, calls for thousands in fines for each of the five separate plaintiffs. The scheme encouraged voters to skip the primary and instead “save [their] vote” for the general election. The defendant, Steve Kramer, admitted paying $150 for the impersonation, made using software by ElevenLabs in under 20 minutes. Records show Biden challenger Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-3)—who lost to Biden by over 40 points in the race—has paid Kramer over $250K in consultancy fees. Phillips nonetheless denies any prior knowledge of the robocalls. Kramer claims his intentions were to raise awareness of the dangers of AI.The robocall is believed to be the first voter-suppression effort using AI to mimic a US president and prompted regulators to explicitly bar AI-cloned robocalls. Learn about how to protect against AI-powered scams here.