"Voice Cloning Technology Set to Drive 2024 Political Ads Amid Rising Disinformation Concerns"

Disinformation concerns surrounding AI in the 2024 U.S. elections are escalating, yet AI voice cloning startups are entering the political arena.

For instance, Boca Raton's Instreamatic, an AI audio/video advertising platform that raised $6.1 million in a Series A funding round in 2021, is expanding into political advertising. Instreamatic’s solution allows candidate campaigns to swiftly create highly-targeted AI-generated video and audio ads—using voiceovers instead of traditional talking head videos—that can adjust to real-time events or locations.

A demo showcased how Instreamatic can modify audio or video political ads by replicating a candidate's voice without the need for studio re-recording. Since last March, Instreamatic has offered its generative voice AI product to brands and agencies, allowing from a single completed ad to generate unlimited variations tailored to factors like audience location, time of day, the platform receiving the ad, or local stores.

Nevertheless, the introduction of AI in 2024 election campaigns poses a potential disinformation risk. A recent ABC News report noted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ use of AI-generated images and audio of former President Donald Trump, prompting concerns about the implications of generative AI. Nathan Lambert, a machine learning researcher at the Allen Institute for AI, warns that without regulations, AI could turn the 2024 elections into chaos.

Instreamatic ensures compliance by requiring explicit permission for voice usage. CEO Stas Tushinskiy stated that they will verify client authorization and that their political advertising services won’t be available to every applicant. "You can't just sign up," he explained. "We engage in campaign creation to avoid unintended misuse of our platform," emphasizing that problematic content would be swiftly deleted and addressed publicly if necessary.

Tushinskiy clarified that Instreamatic isn't reinventing political advertising but automating an already cumbersome process. Candidates traditionally spend hours in studios recording ads, with additional steps involving uploads and checks for errors. Instreamatic's technology reduces this timeline from weeks to mere minutes, streamlining the ad creation process.

Experts warn that the political ad landscape remains perilous in light of potential AI misuse. Currently, no federal regulations govern the use of AI-generated content in political campaigns. Russell Wald, policy director at Stanford University’s Institute for Human Centered AI, highlighted the lack of rules as campaigns tread forward without sufficient oversight.

Tushinskiy reiterated that Instreamatic aims to enhance productivity and effectiveness, not generate misinformation. “If we were the ones creating misinformation, I wouldn’t want to be part of this process,” he asserted, emphasizing the company’s commitment to stopping unethical use of their technology and potentially exposing such actions.