South Koreans went to the polls on Wednesday March 9 to elect a new president. Perhaps unsurprisingly for one of the most connected countries in the world, candidates for the top job used technology in a bid to connect with as many voters as possible, especially younger ones. Our correspondents report on the digital tools that have shaped the election campaign, from AI-generated clones of candidates to metaverse virtual reality platforms.
In a crowded campaign office in Seoul, young, trendy staffers are using deepfake technology to try to achieve the near-impossible: make a middle-aged, establishment South Korean presidential candidate cool.
Armed with hours of specially-recorded footage of opposition People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, the team has created a digital avatar of the front runner – and set “AI Yoon” loose on the campaign trail ahead of a March 9 election.
From a deepfake video of Barack Obama insulting Donald Trump to failed New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang campaigning in the metaverse, AI technology has been used in elections before.
From the metaverse to AI clones: South Korea’s presidential election goes digital
