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A political consultant who sent\u00a0artificial intelligence-generated robocalls<\/a>\u00a0mimicking President Joe Biden\u2019s voice made his first court appearance Wednesday in New Hampshire, where he is charged with voter suppression and impersonating a candidate ahead of the state\u2019s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.<\/p>\n Steven Kramer, who also faces a proposed $6 million fine from the\u00a0Federal Communications Commission<\/a>, has admitted orchestrating a message that was sent to thousands of voters two days before\u00a0the Jan. 23 primary<\/a>. The message played an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president\u2019s that used his phrase \u201cWhat a bunch of malarkey\u201d and falsely suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November.<\/p>\n Kramer was charged last month with 13 felonies alleging he violated a New Hampshire law against attempting to deter someone from voting using misleading information. He also faces 13 misdemeanor charges accusing him of falsely representing himself as a candidate by his own conduct or that of another person.<\/p>\n The charges were filed in four counties and are being prosecuted by the state attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n At Kramer\u2019s arraignment in Belknap County on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Brendan O\u2019Donnell successfully argued that Kramer should be ordered to post $10,000 cash bail. He argued that the amount was necessary to ensure Kramer returns to court given that he travels frequently and maintains homes in multiple states.<\/p>\n Kramer\u2019s attorney, Tom Reid, argued for personal recognizance bail. He said Kramer has a long history of appearing at regulatory proceedings and has never missed a court date.<\/p>\n \u201cTraveling a lot doesn\u2019t make someone a flight risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kramer declined to comment as he left the courthouse. His attorney said he is \u201cenjoying the presumption of innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously right now we\u2019re enjoying the presumption of innocence, we\u2019re going to review all the different charges and engage in discussions with the attorney general\u2019s office,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n Kramer, who owns a firm that specializes in get-out-the-vote projects, told The Associated Press in February that he wasn\u2019t trying to influence the outcome of the primary election but rather wanted to\u00a0send a wake-up call<\/a>\u00a0about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence when he paid\u00a0a New Orleans magician<\/a>\u00a0$150 to create the recording.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I\u2019m a villain today, but I think in the end we get a better country and better democracy because of what I\u2019ve done, deliberately,\u201d Kramer said in February.<\/p>\n Voter suppression carries a prison sentence of 3 1\/2 to 7 years in prison. Impersonating a candidate is punishable by up to a year in jail.<\/p>\n Since the New Hampshire robocalls, the FCC has taken steps to combat the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in political communications. In February, it confirmed that\u00a0AI voice-cloning tools in robocalls are banned<\/a>\u00a0under existing law, and on Wednesday, it introduced\u00a0a proposal<\/a>\u00a0to require political advertisers to disclose when they use content generated by\u00a0artificial intelligence<\/a>\u00a0in broadcast television and radio ads.<\/p>\n If adopted, the new rules would add a layer of transparency that many lawmakers and AI experts have been calling for as\u00a0rapidly advancing generative AI tools<\/a>\u00a0churn out lifelike images, videos and audio clips that threaten to\u00a0mislead voters<\/a>\u00a0in the upcoming U.S. election.<\/p>\n The charges against Kramer were announced the same day the FCC proposed its fine, along with a $2 million fine against Lingo Telecom, the company accused of transmitting the calls. The proposed fines were the agency\u2019s first involving generative AI technology, but Lingo Telecom said it strongly disagreed with the FCC\u2019s action, which it called an attempt to impose new rules retroactively.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n