WEBVTT
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Hi, welcome and thank you for joining us on the Newsworthy Podcast today.
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:06.719
My name is Rosie Whitaker.
00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:08.400
I'm Emily Fidler.
00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:10.160
I'm Amanda Tanner.
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:11.839
And I'm Roman Keel.
00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:19.440
Today we are joined by Vihan Mateur talking about his newsworthy piece, Blurred Reality.
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.160
India Embraces First AI Election.
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:24.480
Thanks, Vihan, for speaking with us today.
00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.280
I just wanted to ask why did you pitch this piece newsworthy?
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:28.960
Why was it important for you to write?
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:30.480
Hello guys.
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.000
Thank you for having me.
00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:38.880
I pitched this piece because AI is becoming like an integral part of global politics.
00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:43.359
And of course the elections were coming up, so there was like a perfect opportunity for me to write this piece.
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:48.240
When did you first become aware of politicians using deepfake technology?
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:57.679
I've always been like aware of obviously AI and deepfake since a few years, but I saw it in the political context recently.
00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:07.280
For example, there was this guy called Manos Tewari who's a member of parliament and he used deepfake technology to reach out to three audiences with three different languages.
00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:16.239
Okay, so you wrote this piece before the India's upcoming general election, and Modi was running for his consecutive five-year term, and we're now sitting in the aftermath of the election.
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.079
So can you tell us more about what played out?
00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:19.680
The result got out.
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.680
It was shocking, disappointing.
00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:30.239
Modi's government, BJP, won 240 seats, which is far below the required 272 seats, and they didn't form the government.
00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:39.840
And for the first time in the decade, Prime Minister Modi did not have majority in the parliament, so that needed and they're required to form a coalition government.
00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:43.200
So that means basically he can't take decisions on his own.
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:51.519
This election was surprising because it delivered like a message to the West that India's democracy is still healthy and to the global south that democracy still works.
00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.239
So it was really unexpectedly competitive.
00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.640
Do you think AI played any role in this?
00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.719
In my opinion, AI did play a role, but not like a significant role.
00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:07.519
Parties used AI to make deepfake videos to basically manipulate the other party voters.
00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.400
It also was used as a translation tool as well by people for campaigning.
00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:18.159
So I mean it did play a role, but political strongstanding and history defied that.
00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:24.000
Would you feel lied to if they were to use deepfakes, even if it was just for like translation purposes?
00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:29.039
I'll say Indian voters are very smart and India's population is massive, diverse.
00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:40.879
There are some linguistic barriers, and I'll say voters are aware of AI at some level, but D-Fix in particular, people still don't know about that, I'll say.
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.719
So it's gonna be a big tool for manipulation if not used right.
00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:50.560
So I think voter education and public education on AI and Dfakes is a tool that should be known by everybody.
00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:53.360
I wanna go back to Murray for a second.
00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.719
Do you think he's threatened by AI?
00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:57.439
Definitely.
00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:06.479
He definitely feels threatened, and because during this political campaigning for this election, people made memes, deep fakes of him.
00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:17.680
So of course he feels threatened, but he acknowledges the benefits of AISV and how it could help India to develop on a large scale.
00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:30.960
You reported in your piece that Shatragan Gotham, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Kekri and former parliamentary secretary of Rajasthan, said tantrics has been part of politics for a long time.
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:31.759
It's not new.
00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.360
You've obviously done significant research into the use of AI in this election.
00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:37.520
What did you think about that statement?
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:38.800
I think Mr.
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:48.960
Gautam's statement highlights like a deep-rooted truth about Indian politics, and manipulation has indeed been a part of Indian politics for a long time.
00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:57.360
And as you can see, earlier it was blackmailing money like money laundering, making false false promises in the name of religion.
00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:58.800
And now AI.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:00.800
Manipulation has always been there.
00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.599
The the form of manipulation has changed.
00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:11.120
And his words were just like a more pragmatic like acceptance of this technology rather than a threat.
00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.840
So that I think that's what it means.
00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:18.319
How did you go about getting into contact with Gotham?
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.480
The story was very hard to produce for me and write as well.
00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:25.040
Because the interviewing process was very hard.
00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:39.759
I was in Sydney when I was doing this whole project, and like I had to reach out to my like friends in Sydney and India, and through them I was like contacting politicians because I was like, obviously, I'm a uni student.
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:45.920
Nobody in their right mind would allow someone to take a interview of a politician who is a student.
00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.879
What do you think the future of AI usage in India's political sphere looks like?
00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:58.959
Do you see people really coming to terms with it and embracing it and being that pioneer of AI or the opposite?
00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:31.199
I think AI will definitely play a larger role in the future and when both in like legitimate ways, such as translation or manipulation, and like more concerning ways as well, such as spreading disinformation, misinformation campaigns, and I think AI is evolving rapidly, and like India will need to have the fine line in leveraging AI, considering voter inclusivity, and also like maintaining a fine line between the misuse of AI as well.
00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:37.279
Does the possibility of India stepping over that fine line scare you for the future of Indian politics?
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:39.519
Of course, there's a it could be bad.
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.279
People could just misuse AI more, like manipulation can be a game changer.
00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.199
AI could be used in a very uncertain way as well.
00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:50.079
Anything could happen.
00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:57.600
Like this election, a lot of manipulation cases, defects were released, so maybe next time it'll be more.
00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.319
Was that an issue of sensitivity when talking to politicians in India?
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:03.120
Yeah.
00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.360
When I interviewed the the politician, Mr.
00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:08.399
Gotham, it was a little nerve-wracking for me.
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.240
I had to send all the questions first to his assistant, and he was checking it like if it doesn't have any sensitive content.
00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:23.199
That was obviously I could have asked more deep questions, but obviously he's also campaigning for his party.
00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:33.519
When getting that interview, being Indian studying abroad in Australia, did they treat you differently than how you think they would treat someone that was a journalist from India?
00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:49.199
I'd say it did make a difference because me living in Sydney and being an Indian journalist, it did I won't say respect, but like more credibility, like I got because if that would have been the other way around, I would have definitely had like less chances of getting the interview.
00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:50.800
They would have been more regarded.
00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:56.879
They would have not given me the interview if I if I wasn't a journalist from a top uh news organization.
00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:58.879
So yeah, that made a difference.
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:00.879
Thanks Vihan for speaking with us today.
00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.439
I'm Ryan Keel with Emily Weidler, Rosie Whitaker, and Amanda Tan.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.079
And this is a Newsworthy Podcast.
00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.799
Hi, welcome and thank you for joining us on the Newsworthy Podcast today.
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:06.719
My name is Rosie Whitaker.
00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:08.400
I'm Emily Fidler.
00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:10.160
I'm Amanda Tanner.
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:11.839
And I'm Roman Keel.
00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:19.440
Today we are joined by Vihan Mateur talking about his newsworthy piece, Blurred Reality.
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.160
India Embraces First AI Election.
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:24.480
Thanks, Vihan, for speaking with us today.
00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.280
I just wanted to ask why did you pitch this piece newsworthy?
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:28.960
Why was it important for you to write?
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:30.480
Hello guys.
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.000
Thank you for having me.
00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:38.880
I pitched this piece because AI is becoming like an integral part of global politics.
00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:43.359
And of course the elections were coming up, so there was like a perfect opportunity for me to write this piece.
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:48.240
When did you first become aware of politicians using deepfake technology?
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:57.679
I've always been like aware of obviously AI and deepfake since a few years, but I saw it in the political context recently.
00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:07.280
For example, there was this guy called Manos Tewari who's a member of parliament and he used deepfake technology to reach out to three audiences with three different languages.
00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:16.239
Okay, so you wrote this piece before the India's upcoming general election, and Modi was running for his consecutive five-year term, and we're now sitting in the aftermath of the election.
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.079
So can you tell us more about what played out?
00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:19.680
The result got out.
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.680
It was shocking, disappointing.
00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:30.239
Modi's government, BJP, won 240 seats, which is far below the required 272 seats, and they didn't form the government.
00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:39.840
And for the first time in the decade, Prime Minister Modi did not have majority in the parliament, so that needed and they're required to form a coalition government.
00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:43.200
So that means basically he can't take decisions on his own.
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:51.519
This election was surprising because it delivered like a message to the West that India's democracy is still healthy and to the global south that democracy still works.
00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.239
So it was really unexpectedly competitive.
00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.640
Do you think AI played any role in this?
00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.719
In my opinion, AI did play a role, but not like a significant role.
00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:07.519
Parties used AI to make deepfake videos to basically manipulate the other party voters.
00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.400
It also was used as a translation tool as well by people for campaigning.
00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:18.159
So I mean it did play a role, but political strongstanding and history defied that.
00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:24.000
Would you feel lied to if they were to use deepfakes, even if it was just for like translation purposes?
00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:29.039
I'll say Indian voters are very smart and India's population is massive, diverse.
00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:40.879
There are some linguistic barriers, and I'll say voters are aware of AI at some level, but D-Fix in particular, people still don't know about that, I'll say.
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.719
So it's gonna be a big tool for manipulation if not used right.
00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:50.560
So I think voter education and public education on AI and Dfakes is a tool that should be known by everybody.
00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:53.360
I wanna go back to Murray for a second.
00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.719
Do you think he's threatened by AI?
00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:57.439
Definitely.
00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:06.479
He definitely feels threatened, and because during this political campaigning for this election, people made memes, deep fakes of him.
00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:17.680
So of course he feels threatened, but he acknowledges the benefits of AISV and how it could help India to develop on a large scale.
00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:30.960
You reported in your piece that Shatragan Gotham, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Kekri and former parliamentary secretary of Rajasthan, said tantrics has been part of politics for a long time.
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:31.759
It's not new.
00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.360
You've obviously done significant research into the use of AI in this election.
00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:37.520
What did you think about that statement?
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:38.800
I think Mr.
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:48.960
Gautam's statement highlights like a deep-rooted truth about Indian politics, and manipulation has indeed been a part of Indian politics for a long time.
00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:57.360
And as you can see, earlier it was blackmailing money like money laundering, making false false promises in the name of religion.
00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:58.800
And now AI.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:00.800
Manipulation has always been there.
00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.599
The the form of manipulation has changed.
00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:11.120
And his words were just like a more pragmatic like acceptance of this technology rather than a threat.
00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.840
So that I think that's what it means.
00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:18.319
How did you go about getting into contact with Gotham?
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.480
The story was very hard to produce for me and write as well.
00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:25.040
Because the interviewing process was very hard.
00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:39.759
I was in Sydney when I was doing this whole project, and like I had to reach out to my like friends in Sydney and India, and through them I was like contacting politicians because I was like, obviously, I'm a uni student.
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:45.920
Nobody in their right mind would allow someone to take a interview of a politician who is a student.
00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.879
What do you think the future of AI usage in India's political sphere looks like?
00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:58.959
Do you see people really coming to terms with it and embracing it and being that pioneer of AI or the opposite?
00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:31.199
I think AI will definitely play a larger role in the future and when both in like legitimate ways, such as translation or manipulation, and like more concerning ways as well, such as spreading disinformation, misinformation campaigns, and I think AI is evolving rapidly, and like India will need to have the fine line in leveraging AI, considering voter inclusivity, and also like maintaining a fine line between the misuse of AI as well.
00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:37.279
Does the possibility of India stepping over that fine line scare you for the future of Indian politics?
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:39.519
Of course, there's a it could be bad.
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.279
People could just misuse AI more, like manipulation can be a game changer.
00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.199
AI could be used in a very uncertain way as well.
00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:50.079
Anything could happen.
00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:57.600
Like this election, a lot of manipulation cases, defects were released, so maybe next time it'll be more.
00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.319
Was that an issue of sensitivity when talking to politicians in India?
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:03.120
Yeah.
00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.360
When I interviewed the the politician, Mr.
00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:08.399
Gotham, it was a little nerve-wracking for me.
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.240
I had to send all the questions first to his assistant, and he was checking it like if it doesn't have any sensitive content.
00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:23.199
That was obviously I could have asked more deep questions, but obviously he's also campaigning for his party.
00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:33.519
When getting that interview, being Indian studying abroad in Australia, did they treat you differently than how you think they would treat someone that was a journalist from India?
00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:49.199
I'd say it did make a difference because me living in Sydney and being an Indian journalist, it did I won't say respect, but like more credibility, like I got because if that would have been the other way around, I would have definitely had like less chances of getting the interview.
00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:50.800
They would have been more regarded.
00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:56.879
They would have not given me the interview if I if I wasn't a journalist from a top uh news organization.
00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:58.879
So yeah, that made a difference.
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:00.879
Thanks Vihan for speaking with us today.
00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.439
I'm Ryan Keel with Emily Weidler, Rosie Whitaker, and Amanda Tan.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.079
And this is a Newsworthy Podcast.
