New Orleans magician claims he was hired by a Democratic consultant who worked for Dean Phillips' presidential campaign in what could be the first attempt by authorities to use artificial intelligence to interfere in a U.S. election. He says he hired him to create an audio recording of what he said.
A New Orleans magician was named Friday by a Democratic consultant who worked for Dean Phillips' presidential campaign in what authorities said may be the first known attempt to use artificial intelligence to interfere in a U.S. election. He said he hired him to create the audio. .
Paul Carpenter told The Associated Press that he was hired by Steve Cramer to use AI to imitate President Joe Biden's voice in robocalls to discourage people from voting in New Hampshire's first primary last month. said.
New Hampshire officials say a recorded message sent to thousands of voters two days before the Jan. 23 election violates the state's voter suppression law. They issued cease-and-desist orders to two Texas companies believed to have been involved. The relationship with the Louisiana magician was first reported by NBC News.
A spokesman for Attorney General John Formella declined to comment Friday on whether law enforcement agencies were investigating Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Kramer, saying only that the investigation was continuing.
Phillips' campaign denounced the phone call and Kramer's actions, claiming that the $260,000 it paid Kramer in December and January was money to help him vote in New York and Pennsylvania.
“If it is true that Mr. Kramer was involved in the creation of deepfake robocalls, he did so of his own free will and has no connection to our campaign,” spokeswoman Katie Dolan said in an email. said in an emailed statement. “The fundamental concepts of our campaign are the importance of competition, choice, and democracy. We are disgusted to learn that Mr. Kramer is allegedly behind this call, and if the If the allegations are true, we categorically condemn his actions.”
Kramer did not respond to messages sent to his Facebook account Friday, and his other contact information was not immediately available.
Liz Purdy, a senior adviser to the Biden-Harris campaign in New Hampshire, said she supports efforts to hold accountable those who seek to interfere with the election and remain “highly vigilant” against the threat of disinformation.
In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Carpenter said he met Kramer through a mutual friend and that they were staying in the same house in New Orleans when they talked about using AI to create audio.
Carpenter, a street magician who also works in nightclubs, said he has been creating social media content for about 20 years. Screenshots he shared with NBC News and The Associated Press included texts in which Cramer said he emailed a script to Carpenter three days before the primary. Venmo transactions revealed an account in the same name that Mr. Kramer's father used to pay Mr. Carpenter $150 on January 20, three days before the primary election.
Two days later, when news of the fake Biden robocall broke, text messages provided by Carpenter showed Cramer sending Carpenter a link to the article and a message saying, “Shhh!” It is shown.
Carpenter said he thought Cramer was working for the Biden campaign when he made the audio. He told the AP that he has retained a lawyer and is considering legal action against Kramer.
“I had no knowledge of his involvement in any other presidential campaigns,” he said.
Carpenter, who has no permanent address and splits his time between New Orleans and Houston, told NBC News that Cramer instructed him to delete Biden's manuscript and other emails, which he did.
Recorded robocalls were sent to between 5,000 and 25,000 voters. He used a voice similar to Biden's, used the phrase Biden often uses, “What a disaster,” and falsely suggested that voting in the primary would prevent voters from voting in the general election in November.
Biden won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate after removing his name from the ballot in deference to South Carolina's new lead position in the Democratic primary.
The call was sent to the recipient from the personal cell phone number of Kathy Sullivan, a former state Democratic Party chair who helps run Granite for America, a super PAC that supported Biden's write-in campaign. disguised as belonging to
Sullivan said in an email Friday that he didn't know about Kramer until he read the NBC article, adding, “I have not received an apology from Dean Phillips for having a highly paid consultant spoof my phone number. ” he said.
___
McGill reported from New Orleans.