crime
CONCORD, NH (AP) — A political consultant who Robocalls generated by artificial intelligence Anyone who imitated President Joe Biden's voice to voters before the New Hampshire presidential primary faces a $6 million tremendous and greater than two dozen criminal charges.
The Federal Communications Commission said the tremendous proposed Thursday for Steven Kramer is the primary involving generative AI technology. The company accountable for routing the calls, Lingo Telecom, faces a $2 million tremendous. In each cases, nevertheless, the parties could reach an agreement or proceed to barter, the FCC said.
Kramer has admitted to orchestrating a message sent to 1000’s of voters two days earlier the primary area code within the country on January 23. The message was played by an AI-generated voice that resembled the voice of the Democratic president, which used his phrase “What bullshit” and falsely suggested that participating within the primaries would disqualify voters from voting in November.
Kramer faces 13 counts alleging he violated a New Hampshire law that prohibits discouraging someone from voting by providing misleading information, and 13 misdemeanors alleging she or he misrepresented himself or one other person as a candidate through his conduct. The charges were filed in 4 counties but, as is usually the case with serious allegations, are being prosecuted by the state's attorney general's office.
Neither Lingo Telecom nor Kramer responded to requests for comment on Thursday. Kramer had previously told the Associated Press that he had not tried to influence the election result, but send a wake-up call in regards to the potential dangers of artificial intelligence when he paid a magician from New Orleans $150 to create the recording.
“I may be a villain today, but I think that because of my conscious actions, we will ultimately have a better country and a better democracy,” Kramer said in February.
Lingo Telecom told the AP in February that it’s “committed to maintaining the highest standards of customer care while complying with all of its regulatory obligations.” The company said on the time that it responded quickly to help with the investigation after being notified of the scam calls.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said regulators are committed to helping states pursue perpetrators. In a press release, she called the robocalls “troubling.”
“Because if a caller sounds like a politician you know, a celebrity you like, or a trusted family member, any of us could be tricked into believing something that isn't true by calls using AI technology,” she said in a press release. “That's exactly how the bad guys behind these junk calls with manipulated voices want you to react.”
Shortly after the New Hampshire primaries Robocalls banned that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence.
In an interview a number of days after he was publicly identified because the originator of the calls, Kramer said he didn’t agree that his robocall suppressed voter turnout, noting that Biden won the Democratic primary by a large margin because the candidate who appeared on the ballot. Although he did ballot certification work for one more former Democratic presidential candidate, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Kramer said he acted alone.
image credit : www.boston.com