Russian AI voice campaign attempts to undermine European support for Ukraine
A Russian-tied campaign designed to undermine Europe’s support for Ukraine used AI-generated voiceovers on fake and misleading “news” videos, highlighting ongoing concerns about the apparent ease wiith which the technology c an be used for malicious purposes. What happened Dubbed "Operation Undercut," the campaign aimed to sow distrust among European nations and involved the use of AI-generated voices to create fake news videos that sought to portray Ukrainian leaders as corrupt and suggesting that advanced military equipment, like US-manufactured Abrams tanks, would be ineffective in the conflict. US-based start-up ElevenLabs' AI voice generation technology was used to produce the voiceovers in multiple languages, including English, French, German, and Polish, according to c ybersecurity firm Recorded Future . Other AI voice products may also have been used, the company reports. Why it happened By using AI-generated voices that sound native and devoid of foreign accents, the campaign sought to enhance the credibility of its misleading content - a tactic that allowed Russian operatives to disseminate their messages quickly and effectively across multiple European languages. What it means The use of ElevenLabs' technology for the campaign highlights ongoing concerns about the apparent ease wiith which it can be used for malicious purposes, including misinformation and disinformation. More broadly, while the overall impact on public opinion is thought to have been minimal, it underscores the growing risks associated with generative AI technologies. System 🤖 ElevenLabs AI voice generator Developer: ElevenLabs Country: France; Germany; Poland; Turkey; UK Sector: P olitics Purpose: Manipulate public opinion Technology: Text-to-speech; Deep learning; Machine learning Issue: Mis/disinformation
- Date it happened
- 2024-12-01
- Organisation involved
- Government of Russia; Social Design Agency
- Product, system or model
- ElevenLabs TTS
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