The League of Women Voters has taken legal action in New Hampshire to prevent individuals who used artificial intelligence to make robocalls imitating President Joe Biden from using similar methods to deceive voters in the future.

A complaint was submitted in New Hampshire federal court naming Steve Kramer, the operative responsible for the call, along with two Texas enterprises suspected of being involved in its transmission: Lingo Telecom and Life Corporation. Alleging violations of state and federal laws, it requests that the court impose penalties and prohibit the defendants from creating and circulating AI-generated robocalls without consent from the individuals being impersonated.

An issue arose when a message was sent to numerous New Hampshire voters on January 21, featuring a voice that sounded like Biden’s. The message falsely claimed that voting in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary two days later would prevent them from being able to vote in November. Kramer, who paid $150 to a magician and self-proclaimed “digital nomad” for creating the recording, stated that he planned the call as a way to bring attention to the potential risks of artificial intelligence and encourage legislators to take action.

Lawyers representing the individuals bringing the legal action stated on Thursday that they will contest the “biased” justification given.

“The reason behind this action was to hinder people from voting and to use intimidation to deter them from exercising their right to vote, likely out of fear of losing that right. This is the basis for our lawsuit,” stated Mark Herring, former Virginia attorney general.

A representative for Kramer has chosen not to respond to the legal action, stating that their lawyers have not yet received it. Lingo Telecom and Life Corporation have not yet replied to requests for comment.

Complex artificial intelligence (AI) programs, including programs for cloning voices and generating images, are currently being utilized in elections both in the United States and globally. This has sparked worries about the fast dissemination of false information.

Congress has attempted to regulate the use of AI in political campaigns through bipartisan efforts, but no laws have been passed at the federal level.

After the occurrence of the New Hampshire robocalls, the FCC has made it illegal for robocalls to use voices created by artificial intelligence. Additionally, prominent technology companies have agreed to take preventative measures to avoid the use of AI tools for disrupting elections.

According to Courtney Hostetler, from Free Speech for People, who is representing the plaintiffs as co-lead counsel, the likelihood of this disruption requires the League of Women Voters and other civic groups to alter their approach.

The League of Women Voters is currently redirecting their limited funds to address this emerging danger, which means they are unable to focus on the other individuals they would normally support through promoting voting, providing education, assisting with registration, and teaching them their rights.

“While attending the primary in New Hampshire, Celina Stewart, chief counsel at the League of Women Voters, claimed that the phone calls caused avoidable chaos.”

She argued that it is not fair for the league or election workers, who already work long shifts of 12- to 16-hours, to have to deal with the challenge of a robo call during the election. Therefore, the answer should unequivocally be no.

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This report was contributed to by New York-based writer Ali Swenson from the Associated Press.

Source: wral.com