Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan starts campaign from prison using AI voice clone

Whether Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan will be released from jail before the commencement of the general elections is anyone’s guess, but that won’t stop him from campaigning.

On Sunday evening (Dec 17), the leaders ofhis party,the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), released a voice clone of the cricketer-turned-politician that was made using artificial intelligence (AI).

Calling it a “virtual rally”, a 4-minute message of the 71-year-old leader was played out on social media despite nationwide internet disruptions monitored by NetBlocks.

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It was viewed by more than 4.5 million people across Facebook, X and YouTube.

PTI told AFP news agency that Khan sent a shorthand script through lawyers that was meshed out into his rhetorical style.

The text was then dubbed into audio using a tool from the AI firm ElevenLabs, which boasts the ability to create a “voice clone” from existing speech samples.

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“My fellow Pakistanis, I would first like to praise the social media team for this historic attempt,” the voice mimicking Khan said. “Maybe you all are wondering how I am doing in jail. Today, my determination for real freedom is very strong.”

According to PTI, the audio was bookended with genuine video clips from the Khan’s former speeches. However, the caption appearing at regular intervals said that it was the “AI voice of Imran Khan based on his notes”.

“This was a no-brainer for us, when Imran Khan is no longer there to meet at a political rally,” said the PTI social media chief Jibran Ilyas who is based in the US. “It was to get over the suppression.”

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The use of AI reflects PTI’s focus on its digital reach which has aided them to target younger audiences, who carried them to power five years ago.

“We wanted to get in election mode. No PTI political rally is complete without Imran Khan,” Ilyas told AFP.

Even as political parties are gearing up for the elections that will be held on February 8, Khan’s PTI party has been in disarray after several of its leaders were jailed and many defected in the aftermath the violent protests targeting army installations.

While behind bars Khan was replaced as the leader of PTI, his supporters still consider the former premier to be the figurehead of the party.

(With inputs from agencies)