AI Clones and Deepfakes: The Disruptive Force in Political Campaigns

Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been in jail since August on charges of leaking classified documents, used artificial intelligence (AI) to campaign for the upcoming general elections. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), created a "virtual rally" on social media, featuring a voice clone of Imran Khan delivering a four-minute speech. The AI technology, developed by ElevenLabs, used a shorthand script provided by Imran Khan's lawyers to create a voice clone based on his speech patterns. Despite internet disruptions and censorship attempts, the virtual rally was viewed by over 4.5 million people. While some criticized the AI speech as unconvincing, others praised PTI for utilizing technology in their campaign.