Prabowo's Tale of Becoming an AI Victim: Shocked at Singing Well on YouTube and Fluently Speaking Arabic

Behind the sophistication of technology, President Prabowo Subianto revealed his experience of becoming a “victim” of artificial intelligence (AI) manipulation. He stated that AI is now capable of manipulating a person’s voice and appearance to make it look very realistic, even if it does not match reality.

“AI can make someone speak what they didn’t say. I often experience it,” said President Prabowo while delivering instructions at the Government Working Meeting with the Red and White Cabinet, as well as Echelon I officials and SOE directors at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4).

One moment that surprised the President was when he found content on a video platform showing him singing with a melodious voice. In fact, Prabowo openly admitted that he does not have proficient vocal skills.

“My voice is bad, I can’t sing. But on YouTube, I can sing, my voice is really good. Even I was shocked,” he said, which was met with laughter from the meeting participants.

Not only singing, the President also encountered manipulative content (deepfake) depicting him giving speeches fluently in Mandarin and Arabic. Interestingly, Prabowo joked that he once let it slide because he thought it was advantageous in certain areas during the campaign period.

“There was also me giving a speech in Arabic, extraordinary. Because it was campaign time, I thought in the horse-shoe areas this might be beneficial, so I stayed silent. If it’s advantageous, we stay silent,” he said while laughing.

However, behind his joke, the President gave a serious warning. He assessed that the development of AI and digital informatics systems can be used to produce hoaxes and slanders that have the potential to damage a country’s sovereignty.

According to him, modern warfare is no longer solely about deploying troops or bombs, but through manipulative social media games. Prabowo highlighted the use of thousands of fake accounts created to create an echo chamber effect.

“Perhaps with social media games, with slander, hoaxes. Just 100 people, 1,000 people, can cause a stir. This is called an echo chamber. In intelligence training, there are techniques on how to destroy another country,” the President emphasised firmly.