2023 Polls: Atiku And Okowa’s Voices Were Cloned —Expert

A technological expert has revealed details into how the voices of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar; his running mate and Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; and Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, were cloned.

Their voices were heard in a viral audio shared online on Friday planning how to bribe the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Abubakar has in a statement dismissed the video, saying it is fake.

The former Vice President of Nigeria said it was the handiwork of the All Progressives Congress.

Technology experts have also confirmed that people’s voices can be cloned using Artificial Intelligence, AI. 

The experts said online services such as www.respeecher.com and www.Resemble.ai, which clone speech that are indistinguishable from the original speaker, can be used to achieve such.

“Artificial intelligence is an incredible tool that has many useful applications, but it can also be used for nefarious purposes,” said Dr. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a technology expert based in Lagos.

Ekekwe added: “In this case, someone has used A.I. to clone Atiku Abubakar’s voice and create a recording that never actually happened.

“We need to be vigilant and aware of these kinds of techniques, especially in the political sphere.

“I also hope the law enforcement authorities are getting more sophisticated in their investigations to hold those propagating these sort of dangerous activities.”

He went on to explain that A.I. voice cloning technology has advanced rapidly in recent years and it is now possible to create convincing fake recordings that are almost indistinguishable from real ones.

However, there are ways to detect fake recordings such as analysing the waveform and frequency of the voice, which can reveal anomalies that are characteristic of A.I. generated speech.

The Eagle Online