The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has formally imposed a $6 million fine on political consultant Steve Kramer. This action follows his orchestration of a series of robocalls directed at New Hampshire residents, featuring pre-recorded audio of President Biden’s voice generated through deepfake AI technology. These calls deceptively instructed voters not to participate in the upcoming primary, stating, “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” According to an FCC statement, Kramer is required to pay the fine within the next 30 days, failing which the Department of Justice will undertake collection efforts.
In addition to the fine, Kramer faces multiple criminal charges. New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella has announced charges of voter suppression and impersonation of a political candidate against him.
Kramer’s creation of the fake recordings was assisted by Paul Carpenter, a magician from New Orleans, who demonstrated to NBC News that the deepfake audio files were generated using ElevenLabs’ technology in approximately 20 minutes.
In another development, Samsung introduced new devices in a short-notice event, including the Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy Watch FE LTE. The event’s highlight was the new Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra tablet. This addition to Samsung’s flagship S24 series includes features such as Circle to Search and Sketch to Image, which are compatible with the S Pen on the S24 Ultra, as well as Handwriting Assist and Note Assist. The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra boasts a 120Hz 14.6-inch screen with an anti-reflective finish and is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor rather than the usual Qualcomm chip. The starting price for the 256GB model is $1,200, with pre-orders already open ahead of the tablet’s October 3 launch.
Expanding on consumer electronics, it is noted that quality wireless earbuds under $100 are increasingly available, with features like noise cancellation. Brands such as Anker, Jlab, and Amazon offer capable options within this price range.