Political consultant behind fake Biden robocalls highlights need for AI rules

The political consultant behind a robocall that mimicked U.S. President Joe Biden’s voice said he was trying to send a wake-up call about AI misuse.

The political consultant behind a robocall that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice said Monday he was trying to send a wake-up call about the potential malignant uses of artificial intelligence, not influence the outcome of last month's New Hampshire primary.

Steve Kramer, in an interview days after he was publicly identified as the source of the calls, confirmed paying a New Orleans street magician $150 to create a recorded message that was sent to thousands of voters two days before the first-in-the-nation primary on January 23. The messages played a voice similar to Biden’s that used his phrase “What a bunch of malarkey,” and falsely suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting a ballot in November.

“Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think in the end we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer said.

New Hampshire authorities have been investigating the calls as a potential violation of the state’s voter suppression law.

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Kramer says he disagrees that his robocall suppressed turnout, noting that Biden won the Democratic primary by a wide margin as a write-in candidate. And though he did some ballot access work for another Democratic presidential hopeful, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Kramer said he acted alone to publicise the dangers of artificial intelligence.

While New Hampshire and federal authorities have issued cease and desist orders to two Texas companies involved in transmitting the calls, Kramer said neither of them knew what he was up to.