--- title: "Operator of AI-Powered Joe Biden Unmasked, Criminal Investigation Opened" description: "Officials say they've identified the culprit behind an AI-generated robocall featuring a fake President Joe Biden telling people not to vote." date: "2024-02-07" modified: "2024-02-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-biden-call-investigation" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "joe biden" - "politics" - "robocalls" - "the digest" --- # Operator of AI-Powered Joe Biden Unmasked, Criminal Investigation Opened ![Officials say they've identified the culprit behind an AI-generated robocall featuring a fake President Joe Biden telling people not to vote.]() *\Image: Alex Wong via Getty / Futurism\* ## Vote Not Officials say they've identified the culprit behind an AI-generated robocall featuring a fake President Joe Biden telling people not to vote — a weird bit of AI-inflected political maneuvering that could be a sign of things to come in a dirty election year. The [*Washington Post* reports]() that New Hampshire's attorney general is opening a criminal investigation into the alleged perpetrator of the calls, a Texas-based outfit called Life Corp. Also involved is a company called Lingo Telecom, which [as *TechCrunch* notes]() has gone by many different names and received numerous citations from the Federal Communications Commission for illegal activity. Held on January 23, New Hampshire's primary ballot [didn't include Biden's name]() because the Democratic National Committee recognizes South Carolina's election, which took place last week, as the first "official" election of the presidential primary season. To work around the confusion, Biden boosters launched a write-in campaign urging potential supporters to jot down his name on their ballots anyway. NH Democrats were targeted by the offending robocalls and urged not to write the president in because their vote "makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday." https://twitter.com/DanWGME/status/1749519796821975198 ## Dark Tidings Soon after the incident, the [FCC moved to make AI robocalls illegal](), and as the [NH Department of Justice explained]() in a press release, it's working closely with the agency's enforcement bureau in its criminal probe, which will look into "potential election law violations, consumer protection act violations, and telephone consumer protection act violations." The debacle has clearly shaken up elections experts, who are no stranger to attempts at interference. Former federal attorney David Becker, who now leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, [told *PBS*]() last month that although "robocalls and dirty tricks go back a long ways," this instance is particularly dangerous. "They don’t need to convince us that what they’re saying, the lies they’re telling, are true," Becker said. "They just need to convince us that there is no truth, that you can’t believe anything you’re told." **More on AI fakery:** [*Embattled Sheriff Caught Posting AI-Generated Headlines About How She's Awesome*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()