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The New Hampshire attorney general has opened a criminal investigation into robocalls made before the state’s primary election that used AI to impersonate President Biden’s voice. The calls originated from Life Corporation, a Texas company owned by Walter Monk, and were routed through Lingo Telecom.
The robocalls told New Hampshire residents not to vote in the state’s January 23rd primary, falsely claiming “your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
The robocalls told Democratic voters not to participate in the primary and falsely used the caller ID of a former state Democratic Party chairwoman, reported the New York Times. This violated New Hampshire’s law against deterring voting.
The attorney general has sent cease-and-desist letters to Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, as well as subpoenas to preserve records. The FCC also issued a cease-and-desist to Lingo. A group of state AGs may also pursue civil litigation.
The calls represent a concerning new disinformation tactic using AI to generate fake audio. The FCC chairwoman has proposed designating AI voices in robocalls as “artificial” to make them illegal under federal law.
Experts worry calls like this that spread false information to deter voting could become more common as AI technology advances. The attorney general vowed to crack down on such efforts to undermine elections.
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