In Bengaluru, India, on January 23, a large projected screen displayed M Karunanidhi appearing before a live audience to congratulate his 82-year-old friend and fellow politician TR Baalu on the launch of his autobiographical book. Karunanidhi, who passed away in 2018, was resurrected using artificial intelligence (AI) for this event. He delivered an eight-minute speech to praise the author and commended the leadership of MK Stalin, his son and the current leader of the state. This event marked the third public appearance of the AI-resurrected Karunanidhi in the past six months.
AI Karunanidhi’s speeches often praise his son MK Stalin and aim to boost his popularity among the public. The AI model used publicly available data of Karunanidhi to train the speech model and recreate the leader’s likeness from the 1990s. The AI-generated speeches are scripted by local DMK cadre and vetted by party personnel.
The use of AI to resurrect a deceased political leader has sparked ethical and legal concerns. As India’s election season approaches, the use of AI for electioneering is gaining prominence. AI-generated deepfakes have been used in TV campaigns, and experts are debating the impact of these videos on voter attitudes. The Indian law lacks legal protection for the voices and likenesses of the deceased, prompting ethical considerations of consent.
Politicians are actively seeking AI solutions for upcoming campaigns. Consultancies are using voice cloning to deliver personalized messages to on-ground party workers from politicians. The impact of AI-generated videos on voter attitudes remains unclear, with differing perspectives from policy advocates and practitioners.
As the use of AI in political campaigns grows, concerns about misinformation and disinformation also rise. The effectiveness of AI-based personalized messages may diminish over time, similar to the saturation of WhatsApp groups for political outreach. Meanwhile, the upcoming Indian national elections will likely see an increase in the use of generative AI solutions and deepfake technology.