Consultant behind AI-generated robocalls mimicking Biden goes on trial in New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant who sent voters artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden last year goes on trial Thursday in New Hampshire, where jurors may be asked to consider not just his guilt or innocence but whether the state actually held its first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Steven Kramer, who faces decades in prison if convicted of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, has admitted orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before the Jan. 23, 2024, primary. The message played an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president’s that used his phrase “What a bunch of malarkey” and suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November.

“It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” voters were told. “Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Kramer, who owns a firm specializing in get-out-the-vote projects, has said he wasn’t trying to influence the outcome of the primary election but rather wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician and self-described “digital nomad” $150 to create the recording.

“Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think in the end we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer told The Associated Press in February 2024.

Ahead of the trial in Belknap County Superior Court, state prosecutors sought to prevent Kramer from arguing that the primary was a meaningless straw poll because it wasn’t sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. At Biden’s request, the DNC dislodged New Hampshire from its traditional early spot in the nominating calendar, but later dropped its threat not to seat the state’s national convention delegates. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or campaign there, but won as a write-in.

The state argued that such evidence was irrelevant and would risk confusing jurors, but Judge Elizabeth Leonard denied the motion in March, saying the DNC’s actions and Kramer’s understanding of them were relevant to his motive and intent in sending the calls. She did grant the prosecution’s request that the court accept as fact that the state held its presidential primary election as defined by law on Jan. 23, 2024. Jurors will be informed of that conclusion but won’t be required to accept it.

Kramer faces 11 felony charges, each punishable by up to seven years in prison, alleging he attempted to prevent or deter someone from voting based on “fraudulent, deceptive, misleading or spurious grounds or information.” He also faces 11 misdemeanor charges that each carry a maximum sentence of a year in jail accusing him of falsely representing himself as a candidate by his own conduct or that of another person.

He also has been fined $6 million by the Federal Communications Commission, but it’s unclear whether he has paid it, and the FCC did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week.

The agency was developing AI-related rules when Donald Trump won the presidency, but has since shown signs of a possible shift toward loosening regulations. In April, it recommended that a telecom company be added back to an industry consortium just weeks after the agency had proposed fining the company for its role in illegal robocalls impersonating the FCC.

Half of all U.S. states have enacted legislation regulating AI deepfakes in political campaigns, according to the watchdog organization Public Citizen.

But House Republicans in Congress recently added a clause to their party’s signature “big beautiful” tax bill that would ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade, though it faces long odds in the Senate.