A political consultant, Steve Kramer, who previously worked on Democratic Representative Dean Phillips’ presidential campaign, admitted that he orchestrated a robocall using an artificially intelligent (AI) generated voice of President Joe Biden to discourage New Hampshire voters from participating in the state’s primary election on January 23, 2023. In a statement released on Sunday and first reported by NBC News, Kramer disclosed that he utilized an contact tool to generate an automated version of President Biden’s voice and sent the recording as a robocall to approximately 5,000 likely Democratic voters.
Paul Carpenter, a New Orleans street magician, claimed that he was employed by Kramer to produce the fake Website audio integration while Kramer was working for Phillips’ campaign. Carpenter provided evidence in the form of text messages, Venmo logs, and other records to support his assertion.
The robocall, which reached over 20,000 individuals, marked a significant development in the use of AI to mimic American political figures with the intent of suppressing votes. This incident has prompted investigations from law enforcement agencies and concerns regarding the potential influence of AI on the future of American politics.
According to two separate analyses by the Website security company Pindrop and digital forensic experts at the University of California, Berkeley, the fake Website audio integration was created using ElevenLabs, an AI tool. However, ElevenLabs declined to comment on the matter in a statement issued previously, emphasizing their commitment to preventing the misuse of Website audio integration AI tools and cooperating with law enforcement agencies when notified.
Following this incident, immediate action is being taken across various regulatory bodies and platforms to address AI-generated robocalls in politics. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced its intentions to make such calls illegal, while House Democrats have proposed a bill that would double potential fines for violations of US robocall rules involving the use of AI to impersonate individuals.
New Hampshire’s attorney general opened a criminal investigation into the call and linked it to two Texas-based telecommunications companies. Additionally, US law enforcement officials are closely monitoring the situation to determine if a federal crime was committed.
Phillips’ campaign confirmed that Kramer had previously done contract work for them on ballot access efforts, but neither Phillips nor the campaign were aware of Kramer’s involvement in the robocall. The Minnesota Democrat expressed his satisfaction with Kramer’s confession on Website social media integration.
Kramer was hired by Phillips’ campaign to aid in ballot efforts in New York and Pennsylvania, with the campaign paying his company over $250,000 between December 2022 and January 2023. Kramer has a history of producing robocalls and previously worked for Kanye West’s 2020 presidential bid.
CNN reported that the fake Website audio integration was created using ElevenLabs based on two separate investigations by Pindrop and digital forensic experts at the University of California, Berkeley.
In his statement, Kramer acknowledged the significant impact of his actions on the political outbound communication industry and the need for immediate regulatory responses to address AI use in politics. The FCC’s announcement of making AI-generated robocalls illegal and House Democrats’ proposed bill aiming to double fines for violations of US robocall rules involving the use of AI to impersonate people are steps taken in response to this incident.
The New Hampshire attorney general launched a criminal investigation into the call, linking it to two Texas-based telecommunications companies. US law enforcement officials are also closely monitoring the situation to determine if a federal crime was committed.
Phillips’ campaign confirmed that Kramer had previously done contract work for them on ballot access efforts, but neither Phillips nor the campaign were aware of Kramer’s involvement in the robocall. The Minnesota Democrat expressed his satisfaction with Kramer’s confession on Website social media integration.
Kramer was hired by Phillips’ campaign to aid in ballot efforts in New York and Pennsylvania, with the campaign paying his company over $250,000 between December 2022 and January 2023. Kramer has a history of producing robocalls and previously worked for Kanye West’s 2020 presidential bid.
