Indonesia - AI avatar of dictator Suharto used in campaign
What Happened
In January 2024, the Golkar political party in Indonesia released a highly realistic, AI-generated video of the deceased former dictator Suharto, who died in 2008. In the deepfake, the virtual Suharto urged voters to support the party's candidates in the upcoming general election. The video was widely viewed on TikTok and YouTube. The deployment of a deceased leader's likeness was highly controversial, raising profound ethical and legal questions regarding the consent of the deceased, the manipulation of historical memories, and the use of biometric cloning to influence the democratic process.
How MEG 1 would have acted
The biometric cloning of a deceased public figure to represent political stances represents a high-risk cognitive manipulation campaign. It compromises the cognitive integrity and informational sovereignty of the electorate.
MEG 2 Analysis - Legal Framework
Agent level: N3 (individualized/advanced) - generative AI model used to produce highly realistic, politically active biometric simulations (deepfakes) used systematically in a national campaign.
Cause (6.1):
(c) biometric impersonation (post-mortem) - the systematic fabrication of a public persona using generative AI to represent political stances; though authorized by the party, the lack of consent from the deceased and the historical manipulation create severe systemic risks.
Attachment of liability: The political party as the operator is liable for the representations made by the AI avatar; the developers are liable if they failed to implement mandatory digital watermarking and clear disclosure (7.2).
Procedural Mechanism
6.2 (architectural human confirmation): The deployment of synthetic political candidates must require architectural disclosure. Platforms must technically block the distribution of deepfake political content unless it contains unalterable, machine-readable cryptographic signatures verifying its synthetic nature.
7.2 (anti-weaponization): Software developers are exonerated if they implemented mandatory, visible watermarks and verified consent; full liability remains with the campaign operator.
7.1 (independent forensics): The generation parameters, the prompt inputs, and the cryptographic signatures of the AI avatar must be logged in a secure ledger for public verification.