By The opinion
28 Jul 2024, 23:22 PM EDT
A manipulated video imitating Vice President Kamala Harris’ voice saying things she didn’t say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to deceive about three months before Election Day.
The cause of this debate was billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the social network X, who sparked controversy by sharing a manipulated video of Kamala Harris’s election campaign, without indicating that he was violating the rules of his own social network.
The recording uses images similar to those in an advertisement that Harris, Democratic presidential hopeful posted this week in his early days of campaigning for the presidency. However, the video posted by Musk replaces the original audio with a voice that convincingly imitates the vice president.
The video also raises questions about how best to handle content that blurs the boundaries of what is considered an appropriate use of AI, particularly if it falls into the category of satire.
“I, Kamala Harris, am your Democratic candidate for President because Joe Biden finally exposed her senility in the debate“the voice in the video says, adding that Harris was chosen to meet “diversity” quotas because she is a woman of Indian and Jamaican descent.
The video retains the “Harris for President” branding. It also adds some authentic past clips of Harris.
In a statement responding to the video, a Harris campaign spokeswoman lashed out at Musk and former President Donald Trump: “We believe the American people want the true freedom, opportunity and security that Vice President Harris offers; not the false and manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”
The video, which appears to have been manipulated with artificial intelligence, It was originally posted by a YouTube account called “Mr Reagan”, who labeled it a parody.
But when Musk shared the footage, which had been viewed 138 million times by Sunday night, he wrote only “This is amazing” with a laughing emoji, failing to mention that the footage was fake.
Musk’s action could have violated X’s policies, which state that users “may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context content that may mislead or confuse people and cause harm.”
The video is an example of how artificial intelligence-generated images, videos or audio clips that look real could influence voters’ opinions in this election.
In these elections, Musk has endorsed Trump, who has already officially declared himself the Republican candidate.
*With information from EFE.
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