In this article, we will discuss the use of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is serving a three-year prison sentence, of AI-generated voice and video in a video to promote his party ahead of the upcoming general elections in the country. This highlights the use of AI and deepfake videos as key tools in major elections scheduled in the United States, India, the European Union, Russia, Taiwan, and others in 2024.
Key Facts
Khan’s party in Pakistan organized an online election rally featuring an AI-generated video of the former leader addressing his supporters and urging them to vote in large numbers for his party. The video uses AI-generated voice that resembles Khan’s voice and temporarily includes a deepfake video of the imprisoned leader sitting in front of the Pakistan flag.
In the video, Khan tells his supporters that his party has been banned from holding public rallies and talks about the targeting, abduction, and harassment of his party members.
Jibran Elias, the social media head of Khan’s party, stated that the content of the video is based on notes provided by Khan from prison, adding that the AI-generated voice feels “65-70% accurate” to the former prime minister.
A live stream of the virtual rally lasting nearly five hours garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube, despite the AI-generated video of Khan being no longer than four and a half minutes.
Critical Quote
Commenting on the use of AI by Khan’s party, Pakistani digital rights activist and lawyer Nighat Dad told Forbes, “There are very valid concerns that voters cannot be sure whether what they see and hear online is real or not. Although Imran Khan is not a candidate in the general elections, he is directing the PTI party. While the video broadcasted on Sunday includes a disclaimer about the AI voice, we do not know if the message came from Khan himself or the PTI social media team. Most voters are unable to spot misinformation, and synthetic media will make things more difficult.”
Main Background
The use of AI and deepfake videos is likely to emerge as a major point of contention as several countries around the world, including the United States and major democracies like India and Indonesia, head towards elections in 2024. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced his intention to run for president again in 2024, was interviewed by an AI-generated version of himself during an annual press conference. Earlier this year, the Republican National Committee shared an AI-generated attack video targeting President Joe Biden, showing a horrific vision of America under his rule in a second term.
The live stream of the election event faced several interruptions, raising concerns and accusations that the government is trying to target and restrict access to the event. Murtaza Solangi, the country’s information minister, refused to answer a question about the deliberate restriction of the opposition campaign from Reuters, telling the agency to refer the question to the country’s telecommunications authority or the Ministry of Information Technology.
Further Reading
In a new era of deepfake videos, AI makes real news anchors report fake stories (Forbes)
Republicans share AI-generated attack video against Biden: Here’s how to spot fake videos (Forbes)
2024 candidates are using AI in their campaigns – here’s how to detect it (Forbes)
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