Steve Kramer, the political consultant who admitted to NBC News that he was behind a robocall impersonating Joe Biden’s voice, has been indicted in New Hampshire.
Kramer faces five charges including bribery, intimidation and repression, according to the Manchester TV station WMUR, who first reported the accusation. It is unclear how he is responding to the allegations.
Kramer could not immediately be reached and his spokesman declined to comment.
The robocall, which was first reported by NBC News and sent to thousands of New Hampshire voters in January, just before the state’s first presidential primary, used artificial intelligence technology to spoof the president, telling voters to stay. home and “save” your votes for the November general elections.
The call was the first known example of a deepfake used in American national politics. This sparked an outcry from authorities and watchdogs, prompting the Federal Communications Commission to introduce a new rule banning unsolicited AI robocalls.
Law enforcement officials in New Hampshire and at the federal level took the call seriously, eager to send a strong message that they would not tolerate misuse of the new technology, while advocates say new rules are needed.
New Hampshire law enforcement authorities quickly indicted two out-of-state telecommunications companies they said were involved in distributing the robocall, but the call’s creators remained unknown until a nomadic street magician came forward to NBC News.
Paul Carpenter, who holds the world record for straightjacket escapes but has no fixed address, said he was hired by Kramer to create the audio of Biden’s voice used in the call, providing screenshots of text messages and Venmo transactions to corroborate your account.
Confronted with the evidence, Kramer admitted that he ordered the call, but insisted that he only did so to generate stricter regulations on AI deepfakes.
“This is a way to make a difference, and I did,” he said, adding that he was not worried about potential legal repercussions. “I can tell they’re not used to me. I struggled in college.
Kramer is a veteran get-out-the-vote consultant who has worked primarily for Democrats, especially in New York. At the time, he had a six-figure contract with the campaign of Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who was facing Biden in the primary.
Kramer and the Phillips campaign have vehemently denied that the campaign had any knowledge of the robocall or instructed him to create it.
Phillips dropped out of the presidential race shortly after his poor performance in the New Hampshire primary.
There are fears that deepfakes, in which artificial intelligence is used to impersonate someone, will become a bigger part of political campaigns and society in general.
This week, actress Scarlett Johansson accused Open AI of imitating her voice without her authorization as part of a new product launch. The company denied it, but removed her voice.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
