Manipulated video mimicking voice Vice President Kamala Harris Saying things you didn’t say raises concerns about your power. artificial intelligence To mislead people as Election Day approaches in about three months.
The video gained attention after Tech billionaire Elon Musk He shared it on his social media platform X on Friday evening without explicitly stating that it was originally released as a parody.
The video uses many of the same visual elements found in the actual ad that Harris made, potential democratic presidential candidate, A video of her was released last week to launch her campaign. But the video replaces the accompanying voice with another voice that convincingly imitates Harris.
“I, Kamala Harris, am the Democratic presidential nominee because Joe Biden finally exposed his debate delusion,” the voiceover in the video says. It claims Harris is a “diverse candidate” because she is a woman and a person of color, and says she doesn’t know “the first thing about running a country.” The video retains the “Harris for President” tag. It also adds some original, earlier clips of Harris.
“We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity and security that Vice President Harris delivers, not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” Mia Ehrenberg, a spokeswoman for the Harris campaign, said in an email to The Associated Press.
The widely shared video is an example of how real it is. Images, videos, or audio clips generated by artificial intelligence These tools have been used to mock and mislead people about politics as the US approaches the presidential election. They reveal how elusive high-quality AI tools have become. More easyBut so far, there is still a lack of significant federal action to regulate its use, leaving the rules guiding AI in policy largely up to states and social media platforms.
The video also raises questions about how best to deal with content that blurs the lines between what is considered an appropriate use of AI, especially if it falls under the category of satire.
The original user who posted the video, a YouTuber known as Mr. Reagan, has revealed on YouTube and X that the manipulated video is a parody. But Musk’s post, which has been viewed more than 123 million times, according to the platform, includes only the comment “This is amazing” with a laughing emoji.
X users familiar with the platform may know that they have to click on Musk’s post to get to the original user’s post, where the disclosure is visible. Musk’s comment does not direct them to do this.
While some participants in X’s “community note” feature suggested labeling Musk’s post to add context to posts, no such label had been added to it as of Sunday afternoon. Some users online wondered whether his post might violate X Policieswhich states that users “may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that could deceive or confuse people or lead to harm.”
The policy exempts memes and satire as long as they do not cause “significant confusion about the veracity of the media.”
Musk endorsed former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, earlier this month. Neither Regan nor Musk immediately responded to emailed requests for comment Sunday.
Two experts specializing in AI-generated media reviewed the audio for the fake ad and confirmed that much of it was generated using AI technology.
One expert, UC Berkeley digital forensics expert Hany Farid, said the video shows the power of generative AI and deepfakes.
“The AI-generated voice is very good,” he said in an email. “While most people won’t believe it’s Vice President Harris’s voice, the video is much more powerful when the words are in her voice.”
He said generative AI companies that make voice cloning tools and other AI tools available to the public should do more to ensure their services are not used in ways that could harm people or democracy.
Rob Weissman, co-chair of the advocacy group Citizens’ Rights, disagreed with Fried, saying he believed many people would be fooled by the video.
“I don’t think this is a joke, obviously,” Weissman said in an interview. “I’m sure most people who see the movie don’t assume it’s a joke. The quality isn’t great, but it’s good enough. And precisely because it feeds into pre-existing themes that were going on, most people will believe it’s real.”
“The video is the kind of thing we’ve been warning about,” said Weissman, whose organization has called on Congress, federal agencies and states to regulate generative AI.
There have been other attempts to simulate augmented reality using AI in the United States and elsewhere to influence voters through misinformation, humor, or both. In Slovakia in 2023, Fake audio clips He impersonated a candidate discussing plans to rig the election and raise the price of beer days before the vote. In Louisiana in 2022, a political action committee Sarcastic advertisement A Louisiana mayoral candidate’s face is forced on an actor who portrays him as a substandard high school student.
Congress has yet to pass legislation on AI in politics, Federal agencies Only limited steps have been taken, leaving most existing U.S. regulations to the states. More than a third of the states have They made their own rules. Regulating the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns and elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In addition to X, other social media companies have also put in place policies regarding synthetic and manipulated media shared on their platforms. For example, users on video platform YouTube must disclose whether they have used generative AI to create videos. Or face the comment.
