Divyendra Singh Jadoun has a catalog of videos, audio and images stored on his computer that he immediately presents whenever someone asks about his work. In one of his videos, Indian politicians are seen speaking in multiple Indian languages about various projects implemented by the government. In audio recordings, party representatives can be heard calling voters to ask them questions about issues they are facing locally and requesting suggestions to address them.
Some of these visual and audio clips are so realistic that, like other content in Jadaoun's catalog, a layman would never guess that they were created using artificial intelligence.
Jadoun is the founder of Polymath Solution, a synthetic media company that started creating AI content for politicians last November. In just six months, the nine-member firm has outgrown its office in Pushkar, a small town in western India, working on election campaigns for several major political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition party. did it. Indian National Congress.
Mr. Jadun's content catalog has earned him six political campaign contracts. The company expects to make $241,000 in revenue during the six-week election period.
That's not a difficult goal.
AI content makers like Polymath are being sought after by national and local politicians in India during what is being touted as the world's biggest election. Four AI content agencies spoke. Rest of the world The nation's political parties are expected to spend more than $50 million on AI-generated campaign materials this year, with demand expected to be overwhelming. But while AI content companies aim to maximize revenue, they also eliminate “unethical” requests for fake content that can spread misinformation.
“I can't work with 10 parties in parallel. I don't have the bandwidth for that,” said Senthil Nayagam, founder of Muonium, an AI media technology company based in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Rest of the world. He said his company only works with political parties that are “trustworthy and vouchable.”
India's general election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term, will be held in seven stages. The first phase will end on his April 19th and the final phase is scheduled for his June 1st.
Mr. Nayagam began taking on political duties in January. His first high-profile project was with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party in Tamil Nadu. Nayagam's team created an AI video of the late party's iconic leader M Karunanidhi supporting the state government.
In just three months, Nayagam is so busy signing up political AI content that he's hiring outside studios, photographers, sound engineers, and editors to meet deadlines.
“We hired people who worked before us. [the film] VFX industry [or] CGI … provides high-quality output and fast delivery,” said Nayagam, who has worked with several regional stakeholders. When a client's project requires more people, we hire people with experience in audio, video, and visual effects.
Nayagam said Muonium has worked on the campaigns of nearly a dozen politicians, earning them hundreds of thousands of dollars. He declined to give exact figures. “Each candidate intends to spend more than Rs 1 million.” [$12,000] “On the use of AI technology in election campaigns,” he said. The company had charged more than $12,000 for Karunanidhi's video.
Polymer solution
Some of the most popular AI content during this year's election campaigns include personalized videos that can be spread on WhatsApp, 3D holograms that can be viewed by scanning a QR code, and deepfake videos of politicians posted on social media platforms. there is.
Avantari Technologies, an AI content agency based in the southern city of Hyderabad, receives requests for deepfake videos of politicians almost every day. CEO Bhairav Shankar said: Rest of the world We will deny such requests. Avantari was one of the first companies to use digital tools in election campaigns. During the 2012 Gujarat elections, the company developed a 3D hologram for then Prime Minister Modi.
“We work in the political field; [to] Maintaining your reputation is very important to perform well in the political arena,” Shankar said. He did not name names, but said the company chose to focus on only one political party to maintain the integrity of the project. “We don't want to do anything unethical and taint it. We're willing to do everything we can to help the party win, but we make sure we don't cross the line. please.”
Shankar said political parties are willing to invest millions of dollars in technology-driven campaigns if they achieve their objectives. If a political party is attempting to carry out a “campaign that has the potential to affect almost all members of the population,'' [their] He said even a $10 million fee “would be a very average number” to pay.
But even as AI companies like Avantari turned down requests for political deepfakes, several such videos surfaced on the Indian internet this election season. A recent viral deepfake showed prominent Bollywood celebrities Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh criticizing Modi.
The company said: Rest of the world They often encounter conflicts of interest when two opposing parties approach them at the same time.
Even if a deal is reached, AI agencies typically do not work with opposition parties in the same state or region, Jadun said. “But no one has ever asked us whether you are working with opposition candidates.”
Sagar Vishnoi, a Delhi-based political strategist, said there is no cap on the amount government agencies can charge for their services. Rest of the world.
“Spending by political parties varies, with the major parties potentially devoting more than $1 million to AI efforts,” he said. “But the average Lok Sabha person [the lower house of Indian Parliament] Candidates may allocate approximately $80,000 to $90,000, depending on their financial capabilities and perceived effectiveness of innovative campaign strategies. ”
Polymath has a tiered pricing structure based on the complexity of your project. For personalized video messaging, the company charges 60,000 rupees ($720) for voice cloning, 100,000 rupees ($1,200) for digital avatar creation and up to 2 million rupees ($2,400) for WhatsApp integration. Avantari, on the other hand, charges him 1 million rupees ($12,000) for voice cloning and up to 25 rupees (30 cents) for each video message. “To integrate WhatsApp, I created a separate application and run a call center for bulk messaging. This costs Rs. [36 cents] According to the WhatsApp message,” Shankar said.
Payments are usually made in three installments. “After signing the NDA, we will receive the first installment. [30%]'' said Varun Bisaria, who manages clients for Polymath. Rest of the world. The remaining two installments will be paid after the content is finalized and the project is completed.
Before signing a contract, all four AI agencies have their clients sign ethical guidelines and nondisclosure agreements that outline the details, duration, and price of the content that will be produced. The contract includes a payment schedule for the project.
Once Polymath receives data from a client, it begins training its AI to do things like voice modulation, pronouncing names in different languages and dialects, and lip-syncing, according to Jadun. The video is then adjusted to the client's language settings and distributed on WhatsApp using an algorithm that personalizes the reach to each recipient.
Jadoun started outsourcing work to freelance developers he found on Instagram and LinkedIn. “As our workload is increasing, we are also starting to expand our in-house team,” he said.
At Avantari, the company's AI engineers develop and deploy software. Shankar said the most important member of the team is the quality controller, who checks the quality of content before it reaches voters.
Dighaji Mogula, director of Jarvis Consulting, a Mumbai-based political consulting firm, said there is a higher demand for AI materials in some states than in others, depending on local politicians' campaign budgets. Ta. Rest of the world. Mr. Mogul has been working with Mr. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party during this election.
Mogra said campaign spending in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka was “significant”, meaning they were investing more in technology-related tools. In contrast, Bihar has a much smaller budget, he said.
He said “only a handful of political parties are making full use of technology” but are willing to invest up to 20% of their total election budget in communication tools such as WhatsApp and AI-enabled voice response systems. There are also political parties.
Mogura said there was a risk that the technology would be misused as political parties poured money into AI campaign materials. He said he is aware that some politicians are planning defamatory attacks using AI-generated content. Deepfake experts have previously said: Rest of the world AI could also be used as a cover by politicians who want to distance themselves from objectionable content.
According to Mogra, AI is still in its early stages. For now, he said, they are not as effective as on-the-ground campaigning because they only play a “supportive role.” “AI will get a lot of attention in the next election in 2029, but it’s still in the experimental stage for now.”
