Deepfake democracy: South Korean candidate goes virtual for votes

Baik Kyeong-hoon (R), director of the "AI Yoon" team, explaining how the digital avatar of Yoon Suk-yeol (C) seen on the screen is conducting an election campaign. — by AFP

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 frontrunner – and set "AI Yoon" loose on the campaign trail ahead of a March 9 election.