The veteran political operative Steve Kramer, an ex-consultant to Rep. Dean Phillips’ (D-MN) long-shot Democratic campaign for president, has admitted he was behind an infamous AI-generated robocall that used Joe Biden’s voice to dissuade people from voting in the New Hampshire primary last month. He conceded his involvement in the scheme to NBC News on Sunday, with the network reporting that Kramer has “no remorse” for creating the deep-fake that launched law enforcement probes and sparked a discussion about artificial intelligence’s place in elections. In a statement to the network, Kramer said “immediate action” is needed “across all regulatory bodies and platforms” to ensure others don’t replicate his stunt. “With a mere $500 investment, anyone could replicate my intentional call,” Kramer said in his statement, adding that the call was created with “easy to use online technology.” NBC reported that Kramer hired a New Orleans street magician to create the audio file, using a script that was prepared by him. Phillips’ campaign said the robocall was “disgusting,” saying it would have fired Kramer immediately in January had they known he was behind the call.
