Vantage | Why Imran Khan's AI double spooked Pakistan's army

Internet curbs in Pakistan began late on Sunday. The target was Imran Khan, who is in jail, but his Artificial Intelligence double is on the job. On Sunday, Imran Khan’s party held an online rally like a live-streaming event. Party supporters could see it on Youtube or other social media platforms. Some 4.5 million people joined in. The whole thing lasted around 4 hours and 50 minutes. Party leaders were making online statements. But all of it was just building up to the surprise main event, which was a speech by Imran Khan. Of course, he couldn’t have joined from jail. Instead, he is said to have sent notes to his party workers, and with those notes, Imran Khan’s statement was generated by using AI. We’ve seen similar cases before, like in Russia last week, when President Putin had an interaction with his AI double. But this case stands out for one reason. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t made for fun. It was made to sidestep government authorities.

But, Imran Khan is banned from Pakistani airwaves. He faces over 150 cases in the country. They range from terrorism to fraud. So it is impossible to hear Imran Khan live, which is why his party chose the AI option. It is on brand for them. Imran Khan’s party — The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf — in the 2018 elections had harnessed social media well. The party used Youtube and mobile apps to reach young Pakistanis. So AI was the natural next step. Chances are, this will become a trend in the future. After all, jailed politicians and even jailed activists are a feature in most countries. AI could bring them to live events or rallies. A look at Pakistani Politics Pakistani general elections are going to be held in February, just a few weeks away. It’s no secret who the army is backing — ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. And when the army backs you it’s usually a done deal. It has always been like that in Pakistan. But could this election be different? Army seems to be worried. They slowed down the internet. They also stopped access to social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It looks like the army isn’t taking any chances. And despite that 4.5 million people joined the online rally — which raises the question — just how popular is Imran Khan? We have a poll conducted in June 2023. This was after his first arrest which was in the month before. Khan had an approval rating of 60 percent and led his rivals by more than 24 points. Same with his party PTI which had a likeability of 59 percent. It was twice that of Nawaz Sharif’s party The PML-N. Plus, the current situation is really bad. Inflation is at more than 43 percent. That’s the highest level in six months. And yes, Khan’s government is also responsible for this mess. But voters have short memories. So most of the criticism is against the Sharifs. Does that mean Khan can pull off a victory? Well, he personally cannot. He’s been banned from contesting elections. Just last week, he was indicted again. This time for leaking state secrets. So Khan isn’t walking out anytime soon. Not even if the jail collapses. But his supporters could spring a surprise. We saw evidence of that in May this year when tens of thousands of people protested Imran Khan’s arrest. They even attacked the army headquarters. So don’t underestimate the Imran Khan voter. Having said that, one problem remains: Will the elections be free and fair? In Pakistan, they are never. The army inevitably does something shady but this time the stakes are higher. Western countries are watching and so do the agencies like the International Monetary Fund — a rigged election won’t impress them. It could derail Pakistan’s bail-out packages. So what does the army do? Does it risk a rigged election and backlash? Does it bet on the Sharifs pulling off a victory? Or does it delay the polls again? There are no good options here. So it is familiar territory for the Pakistani army. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.