Twitch channel TrumporBiden2024 has been running a 24/7 stream featuring AI versions of former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden debating each other and answering questions from the chat.
As you might expect, it is extremely not safe for work.
It is not clear from documentation provided by the company how they are accomplishing the feat, but it likely uses a combination of AI models, including text generation, text-to-speech synthesis, and lip sync technology, possibly combined with real footage of the two candidates from the 2020 Presidential debates.
The creator has so far refused to reveal how the stream is being created, noting only that the text-to-speech generation was being done by Play.ht.
The effect is convincing at a glance, even if it is a bit too buggy to pass for the real deal, with the “candidates” disappearing every few minutes or so. Another clue is the NSFW content of the debate.
The 2020 presidential debate was nearly universally criticized for the unprofessional behavior of the participants. But the AI versions of both Trump and Biden would have trouble getting airtime on pay-per-view, much less the national television audience of a presidential debate.
They also tend to mix up their arguments at times, seemingly using common internet insults about themselves in the “debate.”
“Your logic has more holes in it than Biden’s demented brain,” the AI Biden told the AI Trump during a brief back and forth. The lips are another dead giveaway, sometimes morphing. But it is still an impressive feat of technology, especially for something being created on-the-fly.
The feed is being monetized, with viewers being able to “support” either candidate by donating to their side.
TrumporBiden2024 is satire and not designed to fool anyone for more than a minute, it does showcase how AI could be used in coming political elections. Convincing deepfakes have made significant splashes online, oftentimes fooling internet users.
So far this year, a deepfake video of Biden saying offensive remarks about transgender people, fake images of Trump running from the police and being arrested, and doctored images of Pope Francis wearing a puffy designer jacket have all tricked people online into believing they are real.
Candidates are also utilizing deepfake technology, oftentimes without disclosing that the images are AI. Trump shared a fake video of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared fake images of Trump hugging Anthony Fauci, who previously served on the White House COVID-19 task force and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Though the fakes did fool some internet users for a time, they were quickly debunked.
While Western media outlets clutch their pearls over the potential of foreign adversaries using AI technology to spread disinformation and influence voters, AI technology is also being used as a powerful tool in the realms of political satire and parody, as in the case of TrumporBiden2024.
TrumporBiden is far smoother and much more convincing. Humor is subjective and the stream is decidedly off-color, but it is objectively filled with more jokes and almost no significant pauses. Like the AI Seinfeld, it is possible, likely even, that it too will run afoul of Twitch’s censors. Beyond the political implications, it also showcases the potential for endless entertainment created by AI.
The creators of TrumporBiden2024 aren’t the only political satirists using AI technology. Multiple YouTube channels have popped up that are dedicated to AI-generated voices of Presidents and other high-profile politicians playing video games together.
Likewise, Russian media outlet RT released a video on their Twitter page, showcasing Deepfaked versions of Biden, EU President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron brainstorming ideas to ban the media outlet and further sanction Russia.
Like TrumporBiden2024 and the videos of presidents playing Mario Kart, the video does not purport to be actual footage of the politicians, it is not meant to deceive. Instead, it uses the likeness of some of the world’s most powerful politicians to poke fun at them, to partially erase the veneer of inviolability in our leaders.
That may have just as big of an effect on the coming election as any deepfake videos purporting to be the real thing.