New Hampshire political consultant behind AI-powered Biden robocalls hit with 24 criminal charges, $6M fine

New Hampshire authorities have filed charges against a political consultant who sent out automated robocalls impersonating President Biden via artificial intelligence.

In this image taken from video, Steve Kramer speaks during an interview in Miami. (AP Photo)

"After we received multiple reports and complaints on the day these calls were made and the day after these calls were made, my office immediately opened an investigation," Formella said.

He described how his office's Election Law Unit worked with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a bipartisan task force made up of 50 state attorneys general and the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau. 

Kramer previously told local outlet News 9 he produced the phone calls as a stunt to demonstrate the need to regulate AI technology.

NEW HAMPSHIRE AG TRACES ROBOCALLS WITH 'AI-GENERATED CLONE' OF BIDEN'S VOICE BACK TO TEXAS-BASED COMPANIES

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Pool via AP, File)

With the unanimous adoption of a ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices as "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages, the FCC said it was giving state attorneys general new tools to go after those responsible for voice-cloning scams. 

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

"Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

"State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation."

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com

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