With the growing popularity of mainstream AI tools on the cusp of the 2024 US presidential election, AI-generated disinformation is just not only a fear – it’s a reality. On January 22, the New Hampshire Department of Justice released an announcement that the people had been sentenced recorded deepfake audio of Joe Biden, telling them to not vote within the state’s primary elections. The appeal encouraged voters to “save” their vote, falsely noting that “your vote matters in November, not this Tuesday.”
A couple of days later, the AI launches ElevenLabs suspended the creator of the fake Biden video– Bloomberg reported.
Eleven laboratories is a model-powered AI voice generator that, in accordance with its website, can add human-like inflections to a voice based on context. The generator does 1000’s of ready-made AI voices to select from or you’ll be able to create your personal. Bloomberg reported that Pindrop Security Inc. voice fraud detection company discovered that the automated AI Biden call was made using ElevenLabs.
“Our goal is to prevent the misuse of AI audio tools, and we take any misuse extremely seriously,” ElevenLabs told Bloomberg. ElevenLabs website stipulates that deepfakes against politicians can only be utilized in certain cases, including caricature, parody or satire. When the corporate learned of Biden’s deepfake, it investigated and suspended the account responsible, a source told Bloomberg.
In an interview with The Hill, computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University Kathleen Carley said: Biden Robotcall is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ regarding voter suppression attempts. Carley added that this can be a sign of what could also be to come back.
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is already attempting to quash disinformation by publishing plans to guard election integrity. Shortly thereafter, the corporate suspended a programmer who created a bot for the longtime Democratic candidate.
As such, we must remain vigilant about what we see – and listen to – this election season. As Mashable technology reporter Cecily Mauran warned: “The idea of an Internet dominated by AI-generated content is already emerging, and it doesn’t look good.”
Credit : mashable.com