The Flemish Christian democrat party, the CD&V, has released a new campaign video ahead of next year’s elections. It is a remarkable development as it brings Jean-Luc Dehaene, the former prime minister, back to life. Mr Dehaene died in 2014. The video has been created using AI technology and forms part of the party’s “respect” campaign. It has widely been slated on social media.
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“The Beast is back”: Christian democrats use AI to bring former PM back to life (VIDEO)
Colin Clapson
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“The beast is back” says the former Belgian leader. The video has been made using existing pictures and archive sound. The Flemish Christian democrats say that the video was created with the explicit permission of Mr Dehaene’s family. In it he says: “Belgium faces serious challenges in 2024, but that was also the case in my time. The euro, state reforms, these were no futilities, but we sorted all problems”.
Mr Dehaene’s message is that respect for voters worked in the past and will do so again: “Say that the experienced guide said it” he concludes.
Political scientist Carl Devos hopes this is not an indication of the level of next year’s campaign. His colleague Dave Sinardet notes that the party seems to have taken the saying “there’s no bad publicity” a little too seriously. Others, including privacy activist Matthias Dobbelaere-Welvaert, are worried about the use of deepfakes because these can get people to say things they never said in life.