- Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate a speech to address his supporters from jail – a first in the country’s history.
- The speech, which was broadcasted over a photograph of Khan, was disrupted intermittently due to internet issues.
In his AI-crafted speech, Khan discussed the current political situation and claimed, “Our party is not allowed to hold public gatherings.” The former prime minister also complained about kidnappings and harassment of his supporters’ families as the internet livestreaming was interrupted. Pakistan’s telecoms regulator later announced that it was looking into the interruptions. The technology reportedly showed a normal internet accessibility rate overall.
Imran Khan’s speech was generated from a written version, which he approved from prison. His party decided on this method as a response to a state crackdown on physical gatherings. In addition to this, Khan has been largely silenced from the media. Pakistan’s current information minister in the caretaker government, Murtaza Solangi, has been suspected of favoring Khan’s opponents.
Khan, who was convicted on corruption charges on August 5, faces dozens of court cases, some of which are held behind closed doors in prison. This political crisis stems from his ouster last year through a vote of confidence in the Parliament. His party also saw a major crackdown following an assault on military sites by his supporters, who were protesting his brief arrest.
According to reports, before the current crisis, Imran Khan secured a victory in the previous general election held in 2018.