The United States of America’s presidential election is rapidly approaching, and with it comes a new wave of artificial intelligence – now taking the form of automated voice calls. On Sunday, January 21, New Hampshire voters received a call that sounded like the United States’ current President, Joe Biden, urging them not to vote in the state’s primary election, which begins on January 23.
The calls underwent investigation and were discovered to have been created using artificial intelligence technology. According to a statement released by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, the calls seem “artificially generated based on initial indications” (Han, 2024). The Attorney General’s office also claims that the telephone calls “appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters.”
The phone call was created to inaccurately imply that Kathy Sullivan –former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party– was behind said sending of the message. In response, Sullivan stated that “(her) head exploded” from the allegations.
Julie Chávez Rodriguez, who runs the Biden campaign, announced that “spreading disinformation to suppress voting and deliberately undermine free and fair elections will not stand,” she also stated that “fighting back against any attempt to undermine our democracy will continue to be a top priority for [their] campaign” (Han, 2024).
Executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research David Becker says that machine intelligence calls are a “canary in the coal mine,” meaning that he anticipates that artificially generated cell phone calls will continue throughout the 2024 presidential election, aiming to spread misinformation and create a sense of distrust in the election system.
The advancement of artificial intelligence-like technology can be dangerous if not addressed. It has the capability to recreate human voices, which can be used to deceive voters. Artificial intelligence voice cloning technology formulates a voice by studying a person’s vocal patterns and tone through recordings and mimicking when given text to read from. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly integrated into Gen Z’s life, especially with the recent launch of ChatGPT. ChatGPT provides those who use it with an AI boost that helps them complete tasks faster and of better quality. AI can spread false information and manipulate the public into believing a particular topic. With artificial intelligence becoming increasingly common in our day-to-day lives, it is essential to know what information is accurate and what is false.
Source:
Han, J. (2024, January 22). New Hampshire is investigating a robocall that was made to sound like Biden. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226129926/nh-primary-biden-ai-robocall
