Mike Narouei of ControlAI asks, “Just tell me what you had for breakfast,” while making a laptop recording. I spoke for approximately fifteen seconds about my coffee, toast, and commute to their offices.
It didn’t require any sophisticated technical knowledge, we used free software, and the entire process took essentially no time at all.
This audio deepfake (visual ones need more effort to create) is not only used by con artists of all stripes, but it also raises serious concerns about voter fraud in the US, India, and several other countries, including the UK, where approximately two billion people will be casting ballots this year.
At the Labour Party conference last year, Sir Keir Starmer was allegedly accused of cursing at employees. It was exposed as a hoax very soon. Its maker’s identity has never been revealed.
This year, London mayor Sadiq Khan was also singled out after a phony recording of him saying provocative things about Remembrance weekend and advocating for pro-Palestine marches went viral during a difficult period for local communities. To stop them, new laws, he said, were required.
