Dance videos of Modi, rival turn up AI heat in India election

NEW DELHI: An AI video shows an ecstatic Narendra Modi sporting a trendy jacket and trousers, grooving on a stage to a Bollywood song as the crowd cheers. The Indian prime minister reshared the video on X, saying “such creativity in peak poll season is truly a delight.”

Another video, with the same stage setting, shows Modi’s rival Mamata Banerjee dancing in a saree-like outfit, but the background score is parts of her speech criticising those who quit her party to join Modi’s. State police have launched an investigation saying the video can “affect law and order.”

The different reactions to videos created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools underscore how the use and abuse of the technology is increasing and creating worries for regulators and security officials as the world’s most populous nation holds a mammoth general election.

Easy to make AI videos, which contain near-perfect shadow and hand movements, can at times mislead even digitally-literate people. But risks are higher in a country where many of the 1.4 billion people are tech challenged and where manipulated content can easily stir sectarian tensions, especially at election time.

According to a World Economic Forum survey published in January, the risk to India from misinformation is seen higher than the risk from infectious diseases or illicit economic activity in the next two years.

“India is already at a great risk of misinformation - with AI in picture, it can spread at the speed of 100X,” said New Delhi-based consultant Sagar Vishnoi, who is advising some political parties on AI use in India’s election.