Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, spent the country's entire election campaign in prison, barred from participating in what experts have described as one of the least credible general elections in the country's 76-year history.
But from behind bars, he has been rallying his followers in recent months with speeches that use artificial intelligence to replicate his voice, part of a technological strategy his party deployed to evade military repression.
And on Saturday, when official counts showed that candidates aligned with his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, won the most seats in a surprise result that threw the country's political system into chaos, it was the voice of Khan's ai who declared victory.
“I had full confidence that all of you would come out and vote. You fulfilled my faith in you and your massive participation has amazed everyone,” said the soft, slightly robotic voice in the minute-long video, which used historical footage and footage of Mr Khan and contained a disclaimer about its origins. of ai. The speech rejected Khan's rival Nawaz Sharif's claim of victory and urged his supporters to defend the victory.
As concerns grow about the use of artificial intelligence and its power to deceive, particularly in elections, Khan's videos offer an example of how ai can work to circumvent repression. But, experts say, they also raise fears about its potential dangers.
“In this case, it's for a good purpose, perhaps a purpose we would support: that someone who is locked up on trumped-up corruption charges can talk to his followers,” said Toby Walsh, author of “Faking It: Artificial.” Intelligence in a human world” and professor at the University of New South Wales. “But at the same time, it's undermining our belief in the things we see and hear.”
Khan, a charismatic former cricket star, was ousted from power in 2022 and jailed last year on charges of leaking state secrets, among other charges. He and his supporters have said military leaders orchestrated her ouster, an accusation they reject.
During the election campaign, officials prevented their candidates from campaigning and censored the party's news coverage. In response, organizers held online demonstrations on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
In December, his party began using ai to spread Khan's message, creating speeches based on notes he passed to his lawyers from prison, according to ai-voice-most-interesting-thing-tech” title=”” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>statements from the partyand put them on video.
This is not the first time that political parties have used artificial intelligence.
In South Korea, the then-opposition People Power Party created an ai-powered avatar of his presidential candidate, Yoon Suk Yeol, who interacted virtually with voters and spoke in slang and jokes to appeal to a younger demographic ahead of the 2022 vote. (He won.)
In the United States, Canada and New Zealand, politicians have used ai to create dystopian images to bolster their arguments or to reveal the technology's potentially dangerous capabilities, as in a video with Jordan Peele and a fake Barack Obama.
During the 2020 state elections in Delhi, India, Manoj Tiwari, candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, created a ai Fake of himself speaking the Haryanvi dialect to address voters of that demographic. Unlike Khan's video, he did not appear to be clearly labeled as an ai.
“The integration of ai, particularly deepfakes, into political campaigns is not a passing trend, but one that will continue to evolve over time,” said Saifuddin Ahmed, assistant professor at the School of Communication and Information at the University of technology. of Nanyang in Singapore. .
