Right now, the world's largest democracy is going to the polls. Close to a billion Indians are eligible to vote as part of the country's general election, and deepfakes could play a decisive, and potentially divisive, role. India's political parties have exploited AI to warp reality through cheap audio fakes, propaganda images, and AI parodies.
But while the global discourse on deepfakes often focuses on misinformation, disinformation, and other societal harms, many Indian politicians are using the technology for a different purpose: voter outreach.
Across the ideological spectrum, they're relying on AI to help them navigate the nation's 22 official languages and thousands of regional dialects, and to deliver personalized messages in farther-flung communities.
While the US recently made it illegal to use AI-generated voices for unsolicited calls, in India sanctioned deepfakes have become a $60 million business opportunity.—Nilesh Christopher & Varsha Bansal
.jpg "Distorted images of Rathore and Jadoun with circuity and shapes from facial mapping, ballots, and India.")
