Feds raise concerns that releasing Biden audio would spark a deepfake frenzy
The Department of Justice really doesn’t want Biden to become the subject of another audio deepfake.
Republicans and conservative groups have waged a legal battle to get their hands on the audio recordings of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who oversaw the DOJ’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents and ultimately decided not to pursue charges, citing Biden’s age and poor memory.
The DOJ clapped back against the groups in a legal filing late last week, arguing that releasing the audio could ignite an AI-powered, deepfake frenzy.
“The passage of time and advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies only amplify concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files,” the DOJ wrote in its filing. “If the audio recording is released here, it is easy to foresee that it could be improperly altered and that the altered file could be passed off as an authentic recording and widely distributed.”
Among the worries for the DOJ: “A malicious actor could slow down the speed of the recording or insert words that President Biden did not say or delete words that he did say.”
Even though there are already recordings of Biden’s voice that could be used to create deepfakes, any faked audio may be easier to pass off as the real thing if news spreads that a Biden audio was released, prosecutors argue in the filing.
Though a full transcript of the Biden-Hur interview was released in March, Republicans have been demanding the DOJ release the audio recordings. Conservative organizations Judicial Watch and Heritage Foundation joined in, suing the DOJ in an attempt to get their hands on the audio.
Nearly a dozen news outlets have also sued to get the audio released, Politico reported.
The DOJ has argued that Republicans only want the tapes to serve their own political agenda and that they are escalating the conflict “for conflict’s sake.” A politics and national security expert previously said that Republicans could, for example, use the tapes as “raw material for campaign ads.”
Biden is already no stranger to deepfakes of his voice. In January, a political phone call scheme used an AI-generated version of his voice to tell Democratic voters in New Hampshire not to vote in the state’s primary election.
Lawyers for the lawsuit’s plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the DOJ.
