In a high-profile case, a former athletic director from Baltimore County high school was arrested for using AI voice cloning technology to frame the school principal. The case involved an audio recording that circulated on social media in January, where the principal made alleged racist and anti-Semitic comments. However, experts found that the recording had a “flat tone,” “clean background sounds,” and lacked coherent breathing sounds or pauses, indicating it was likely created using AI voice cloning technology.
Baltimore County police traced the recording back to Dazhon Darien, who used OpenAI tools and Microsoft Bing Chat services on the school’s computers to create the fake audio clip. He has been charged with theft, disrupting school operations, retaliation against witnesses, and stalking.
This is not an isolated incident as other notable cases have also occurred around the world. In Pakistan, Imran Khan’s political party used ElevenLabs to replicate his voice during an electoral campaign. In Texas, two companies were linked to a fake robocall pretending to be President Joe Biden telling people not to vote. The Federal Communications Commission banned AI robocalls in February 2021 due to their growing misuse. Additionally, a fake Drake song called “Heart on My Sleeve” was created using AI text-to-speech generation platform Voice Engine by OpenAI in March 2021 for public use only for limited researchers due to lack of guardrails around this technology.
This growing interest in AI-powered voice cloning technology has led lawmakers to introduce several bills such as No Fakes Act and No AI Fraud Act that seek to prevent tech companies from using an individual’s face, voice or name without their permission without consent. As this technology continues to advance rapidly, it is important for society to address these issues before they become more prevalent and potentially damaging individuals or institutions.
