The New Hampshire Department of Justice traced the calls to Texas corporations, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, leading to cease and desist orders from both the NHDOJ and the Federal Communications Commission. The incident has prompted action from the government and tech companies, with the FCC issuing guidelines prohibiting AI-generated voices in robocalls, and companies like Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok announcing a commitment to protect democratic elections from the disruptive potential of AI tools.
Key takeaways:
- The Associated Press and NBC News identified magician Paul Carpenter and political consultant Steve Kramer, linked to the Dean Phillips presidential campaign, as responsible for AI robocalls in New Hampshire that imitated President Joe Biden.
- Carpenter was hired by Kramer to create the AI phone call, under the impression that it was for the Biden campaign. Carpenter shared evidence of a text from Kramer with the script and a Venmo payment for the robocall.
- Dean Phillips expressed disgust at the actions of the consultant, calling for an investigation and criticizing the corruption in politics. Carpenter defended his actions, stating he was told the recordings were for testing purposes.
- The New Hampshire Department of Justice traced the calls to Texas corporations, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, leading to cease and desist orders. The incident led to the FCC prohibiting AI-generated voices in robocalls and tech companies pledging to safeguard elections from AI disruption.