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.
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 Durbin
SCENE: 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_Pol
Ask 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!)
EXCLUSIVE — Senate Democratic Whip outsourced deepfakes to Klobuchar for 2024