Gail Huntley recognised the gravelly voice of Joe Biden as soon as she picked up the phone one day in January. Huntley, a 73-year-old resident of New Hampshire, was planning to vote for the president in the state's upcoming primary, so she was confused that a pre-recorded message from him was urging her not to.
"It's important that you save your vote for the November election," the message said. "Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again."
Huntley quickly realised the call was fake, but assumed Biden's words had been taken out of context. She was shocked when it became clear that the recording was AI-generated. Within weeks the US had outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by AI.
The Biden deepfake was the first major test for governments, tech companies and civil society groups, who are all locked in heated debate over how best to police an information ecosystem in which anyone can create photo-realistic images of candidates, or replicate their voices with frightening accuracy.
Citizens of dozens of countries including the US, India and most likely the UK - will go to the polls in 2024, and experts say the democratic process is at serious risk of being disrupted by artificial intelligence.
Watchdogs are warning that with more than 40,000 layoffs at the tech companies that host and moderate much of this content, digital media is uniquely vulnerable to exploitation.
Mission impossible?
For Biden, concerns about the potential dangerous uses of AI were expedited after he watched the latest Mission Impossible movie. Over a weekend at Camp David, the president viewed the film, which sees Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt face down a rogue AI.
The deputy White House chief of staff, Bruce Reed, said that if Biden hadn't already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI, "he saw plenty more to worry about" after watching the movie.
Denne historien er fra March 01, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 01, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
