A New Orleans magician alleges he received payment from a political consultant to develop an AI-generated Joe Biden voice for voter suppression robocalls targeting New Hampshire voters.
Paul Carpenter informed NBC News that he was brought on board by Steve Kramer, a Democratic consultant involved in ballot access for presidential candidate Dean Phillips, back in January. His task was to mimic the president’s voice and advise New Hampshire voters against participating in the primary election.
“I found myself in a scenario where I was offered money to carry out a task, and I accepted.” There was no intention to cause harm. “I wasn’t sure how it would be distributed,” he shared with NBC News.
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According to Mr. Carpenter, he managed to generate the audio within 20 minutes using Eleven Labs. According to NBC News, he mentioned that he only spent $1 to create the audio, and in exchange, Mr. Kramer sent him $120 through Venmo.
He mentioned that he solely produced the audio and did not share it. The robocalls are currently the focus of a multi-state investigation.
Just before the New Hampshire presidential primary in January, a number of voters were contacted via phone with a recorded message allegedly from Mr. Biden advised them to hold off on voting in the primary and wait until November.
Earlier this month, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office announced that they have pinpointed the origin of the robocalls to a Texas-based company called Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk.
Utilizing traceback technology, the Election Law Unit of the Attorney General’s office notified the Texas-based telecom provider, Lingo Telecom, that the calls were fraudulent, prompting Lingo Telecom to suspend Life Corporation’s account.
According to Mr. Carpenter, he decided to share his confession with NBC News because he feels remorseful about it. The lawyer informed NBC News that he had no previous awareness of the AI-generated content’s intended use or its association with any election-related activities.
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He mentioned that he believed Mr. Kramer was working closely with the individuals for whom he asked Mr. Carpenter to create AI-generated voices. He insists he had no knowledge of Mr. Phillips or that Mr. Kramer was employed by him.
There is no indication that Mr Phillips’s campaign instructed Mr Kramer to create or distribute the fake Biden robocalls.
Mr Phillips and his team informed NBC News that they have no intention of collaborating with Mr Kramer in the future and mentioned the possibility of taking legal action if the accusations prove to be accurate.