Imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan is using artificial intelligence (AI) in his election campaign. Imran Khan’s party, accused in the corruption case, is not allowed to hold public meetings. So a virtual meeting of his team on Sunday used AI-generated audio clips.
The audio clip played at a virtual rally of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) has been viewed more than 1.4 million times on YouTube. Besides, hundreds of thousands of people heard it on other social media.
Imran Khan has been in jail since August. He is on trial in the Cipher case. He said that these conspiracies are being hatched to prevent his contesting in Pakistan’s national elections in February.
While he is in jail, his team PTI has created a four-minute message with the help of artificial intelligence. The rally, titled ‘Virtual Rally’ from Sunday to Monday, was watched by millions of people on social media despite the internet chaos. Internet speeds were slowed to disrupt his party’s campaign, AFP reported.
Imran Khan sent a shorthand script through lawyers, PTI said. The message was recorded using a tool from AI firm Eleven Labs. The message has been tailored to Imran Khan by dubbing his voice from his previous speech.
The AI-generated message said, ‘My fellow warriors, I would first like to commend the social media team for this historic effort. Maybe you all are wondering how I am in jail. Today, my resolve for true freedom is very strong.’
The audio was broadcast at the end of a five-hour live-stream of speeches by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. The video was made with previous footage and pictures of Imran Khan.
US-based PTI’s head of social media Gibran Ilyas said, “It was not a concern for us, when Imran Khan is not actually there to attend political rallies.”
PTI was the first political party in Pakistan to exploit the potential of social media to a great extent.
