AI, deepfakes real challenges before election commission: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

New Delhi | Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose a real challenge for the poll panel, which will try its best to tackle them within the framework of law.

He also indicated that machine-readable electoral rolls could result in breach of voters' privacy.

Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are indeed real challenges for us. Just yesterday, an X handle had shared an AI-generated video that was far from truth."

"The Election Commission will try its best to tackle such challenges, but it can only operate within the framework of the law," the chief election commissioner said.

On the opposition demand for machine-readable electoral rolls, Kumar said the Supreme Court has already given a judgment in this regard in 2019.

"The Supreme Court has already said in 2019 that it can result in a breach of voters' privacy," he said.

Kumar added that a few days ago, photos of several voters were used in media without their permission to claim vote theft during elections.

"Should the Election Commission share CCTV videos of voters, including mothers and sisters? Only those who are in the electoral roll can vote to elect their representative. In the Lok Sabha election process, more than one crore employees, more than 10 lakh booth level agents, and more than 20 lakh booth level officers work. In such a scenario, is there any scope of vote theft?" Kumar asked.

22 lakh dead voters now surfacing as they were not recorded in past: CEC on Bihar SIR

New Delhi | Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said the nearly 22 lakh electors identified as deceased in Bihar did not die recently but were perhaps not recorded in the past.

Responding to a question at a press conference, Kumar said during the previous normal revision of electoral rolls, enumeration forms were not handed out to every household.

Till people do not inform about deaths in their families, booth level officers have no means to know about such cases, he said.

"Therefore, 22 lakh electors had not died in the last six months, but these are those dead electors who have not been recorded in the past 20 years," Kumar said.

This "truth" is coming to the fore due to enumeration forms, he added.

Kumar also said that booth-level officers can commit mistakes while booth-level agents appointed by political parties can help "purify" electoral rolls.