A political consultant who sent voters artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden last year goes on trial Thursday in New Hampshire, where jurors may be asked to consider not just his guilt or innocence but whether the state actually held its first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Steven Kramer, who faces decades in prison if convicted of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, has admitted orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before the Jan. 23, 2024, primary . The message played an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president's that used his phrase "What a bunch of malarkey" and suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November.
"It's important that you save your vote for the November election," voters were told. "Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday."
Kramer, who owns a firm specializing in get-out-the-vote projects, has said he wasn't trying to influence the outcome of the primary election but rather wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician and self-described "digital nomad" 150 to create the recording.
"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 told The Associated Press in February 2024.