As India gears up for its 2024 general election, the largest democratic exercise globally with over 960 million eligible voters, the advent of AI and hyper-realistic deep fakes content is reshaping the political landscape. This technological evolution has introduced a new era of campaign strategies, spearheaded by tech-savvy political operatives who leverage AI to create synthetic media with significant political and commercial implications.
At the forefront of India’s burgeoning deep fake industry is Divyendra Singh Jadoun, a 31-year-old who has rapidly become a key player in political campaigns. Jadoun, who began his journey creating Bollywood spoofs, now runs a sophisticated synthetic media studio. His transition from a solo venture to a full-scale operation with a growing team exemplifies the demand for AI-generated content in political spheres.
“He’s expanded because of the overwhelming work coming to him,” explains Bangalore-based reporter Saritha Rai to Bloomberg. “Initially, he had a couple of workers. Now, he employs five others who assist in creating these videos.”
Jadoun and his team utilize AI models trained on extensive authentic footage to produce eerily realistic videos of politicians, such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seemingly addressing voters by name. “The hyper-personalization possible with generative AI is astounding,” Rai elaborates. “You can train the model to deliver a core message and then input thousands of names, creating personalized videos where Modi addresses each person individually.”
This AI-driven approach allows election campaigns to simulate the intimacy of in-person interactions on a massive and cost-effective scale. “Much of the campaigning will be hyper-personalized and delivered via mobile phones, predominantly as AI-generated content,” Rai notes.
Challenges of the AI Deep Fakes
The proliferation of deep fakes poses significant challenges, particularly in a country where millions are experiencing digital technology for the first time through affordable smartphones. A digitally inexperienced population, including older adults, is highly vulnerable to deceptive content. Studies indicate that even those confident in identifying AI fakes can be influenced by them, affecting memory and decision-making processes.
Malicious political deep fakes are also on the rise. In November, fact-checker Muralikrishnan Chinnadurai identified an AI-generated avatar of Duwaraka, the deceased daughter of a Tamil militant leader, delivering a fabricated political speech. Such misinformation, particularly on emotive issues, can quickly spread and cause unrest.
Similarly, recent deep fake videos of Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Aamir Khan purportedly endorsing the opposition Congress party went viral, leading to police complaints from the actors. In April, Prime Minister Modi cautioned against deep fakes used to falsify speeches by ruling party leaders, shortly before two opposition workers were arrested for a forged video of Home Minister Amit Shah. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has faced similar accusations from its rivals.
Despite these issues, India’s government has provided minimal oversight, often delegating content moderation to social media platforms. “India has no regulation at all regarding AI,” asserts Rai. Although the government recently mandated prior approval for “unreliable” AI tools and warned against outputs that could compromise elections, comprehensive regulations remain absent, mirroring a global trend.
Former election commissioner SY Qureshi aptly captures the urgency of the situation: “Rumours have always been part of electioneering. But in the age of social media, they can spread like wildfire and potentially set the country on fire.”
Conclusion
As the 2024 election approaches, the role of AI and deep fakes in shaping political narratives underscores the need for vigilant oversight and robust regulatory frameworks to safeguard the integrity of democratic processes.
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