With Joe Biden’s mental health becoming a top 2024 issue, Democrats are in a bind. The June 27 debate was an unspinnable disaster. Biden can’t de-age, and it’s unlikely he’ll get better as the campaign season becomes even more grueling. He was still gassed after nearly two weeks of rest and vacation following two rudimentary presidential trips overseas before the debate and still got destroyed by Donald Trump. On top of voters thinking he’s too old, some top Democrats and donors remain laser-focused on trying to remove him from the ticket. For now, Biden has resisted the calls for him to step aside. Still, the Huffington Post opted to publish this insane opinion piece which ironically blows up the ‘Biden is a victim of cheap fakes’ narrative.
That line already got obliterated in the debate, but this is a desecration of a corpse material here. The liberal publication suggested that artificial intelligence should be used to make Biden sound less old. That’s right: the Democrats should basically create cheap fakes of Biden’s speech skills to deceive voters [emphasis mine]:
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— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 4, 2024
This article is wild. It essentially says Biden should create AI versions of his speeches that make them smoother and make him look younger.
Create deepfakes to counter “misinformation”
Amazing https://t.co/nAWjXMunsj
The stakes of the 2024 presidential election cannot be overstated. With Donald Trump promising to act as a dictator “on day one,” it is not hyperbolic to say the future of American democracy hangs in the balance. Against this backdrop, the Biden campaign faces a critical challenge: conveying a strong and effective image of President Joe Biden to a population and media ecosystem increasingly focused on optics over substance. Given the president’s concerning performance last week, it’s time for the Biden campaign to consider leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to effectively reach the voting public.
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Joe Biden is old and has had a lifelong stutter. He acknowledged in a fiery rally following his debate performance: “I might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to.” This has impeded his ability to communicate with mass audiences with consistent success. AI augmentations and video renderings could serve to smooth out these bumps while allowing the Biden campaign to effectively disseminate true information about the state of our democracy and the Biden administration’s accomplishments. The president has limited time to campaign as he also focuses on running the country, and AI would be a cost-effective and efficient way to communicate his message personally and directly to voters.
[…]
Reasonably, some may challenge the use of AI as dishonest and deceptive, but the current information ecosystem is arguably no better. It may even be worse. Media outlets like the New York Post have engaged in sharing deceptively cropped viral clips of the president, dubbed ‘cheapfakes,’ to make him appear confused or weak. Though no excuse for Biden’s weak debate performance, CNN elected to allow Trump to lie for the full 90-minute debate with zero fact-checking. They offered fact-checking over an hour after the debate, which realistically, a mere fraction of the debate audience stayed tuned for. Social media outlets like Instagram and TikTok have cracked down on political content, while rightwing billionaire Elon Musk has used Twitter to amplify false information about the election and boost Republicans. Even once great institutions like The Washington Post have transitioned into Murdoch-style tabloids.
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AI-generated content can be tailored to highlight President Biden’s accomplishments, clearly articulate his policies, and present a consistent, compelling message. In an era where visual mediums and quick, digestible content dominate public perceptions, AI offers an opportunity for more effective communication. These AI-enhanced videos could ensure that the public does not make decisions about the future of our democracy based on an inconveniently timed cough, stray stutter, or healthy but hobbled walk (Biden suffers from a ‘stiff gait’).
That’s insane. We’re going to create a fake president to win an election. That’s neither legal nor rational. If the candidate is that mentally and physically degraded, maybe they shouldn’t have run or ever been president, to begin with. If this is what some are floating around, the Democrats are sniffing bath salts. Who in their right mind thought this would be remotely acceptable?
The Economist puts "Walk Force One" on its cover.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) July 4, 2024
This isn't a meme. This is their real cover. pic.twitter.com/md7hnc5DgE