EXCLUSIVE — Senate Democratic Whip outsourced deepfakes to Klobuchar for 2024

Who?Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — Senate Majority Whip (ie #2 Senate Democrat) Ask a Pol’s ask:“Now that we’ve seen deepfakes deployed — you know, using Biden’s voice — in New Hampshire, do you think Congress is going to be able to address that ahead of November?” Key (and only…) Quote: “Gotta ask Amy Klobuchar. I think she’s got some proposals on that, deepfakes.” Interview helped inform this feature:‘Abuse’: Politicians are fretting about AI stealing their faces and voices, by Matt Laslo, 1-26-2024**I do dozens of interviews for most features, but only a handful of them make the cut — the others help me write so authoritatively. Subscribe so our next exclusive raw AI conversation hits your inbox first! Next up (& longer…): Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) LISTEN: Laslo & Durbin Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Dick DurbinSCENE: Laslo’s standing in basement of US Capitol on a busy Tuesday during a Senate vote chatting with another reporter when he sees Dick Durbin and his security detail exit a tram. Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you? I’m gonna go get Durbin.”Laslo approaches Durbin. ML: “Hey, how are you, senator?”Durbin makes eye contact. ML: “Now that we’ve seen deepfakes deployed — you know, using Biden’s voice — in New Hampshire, do you think Congress is going to be able to address that ahead of November?” Dick Durbin: “Gotta ask [Sen.} Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). I think she’s got some proposals on that, deepfakes.” ML: “But it doesn’t seem like it’s a priority here now that we’re in the election.” Durbin and his detail kept moving past a scrum of reporters and Laslo was left behind before they hopped an elevator. DD: “Yeah.” Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. On social @MattLaslo // @Ask_a_PolAsk a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.*we blame Congress for typos (though ping us & we’ll take care of any!) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe