By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The State Department has alerted U.S. diplomats about attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio, potentially using AI technology. An imposter, posing as Rubio, contacted at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator, and a governor via text, Signal, and voicemail. This incident, while unsuccessful and not particularly sophisticated, prompted the department to warn employees and foreign governments due to increasing efforts to compromise information security. The FBI has also issued warnings about similar campaigns using AI-generated messages to impersonate senior U.S. officials.
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Impersonating Marco Rubio with AI, it seems, might just be the most “authentic” he’s ever sounded, which is a rather ironic twist. It’s almost as if this whole situation highlights the inherent artificiality that sometimes characterizes the world of politics. Perhaps this whole incident is a stark reminder of a universe littered with civilizations that reached a certain technological point and then, well, fizzled out. Maybe, just maybe, what we’re seeing exploring the vastness of space are the AI remnants of these long-gone civilizations.
The moment the AI started displaying any semblance of intelligence or competence, the charade was up. That’s where the cracks in the facade appeared. Apparently, the AI, in its quest to convincingly mimic Rubio, actually showed signs of understanding, a trait notably absent from the real deal. It’s like a Nigerian prince email, but with a synthesized Rubio voice: “Hey, it’s me, your Secretary of State…” It’s not hard to imagine the chuckle-worthy potential of this situation. The AI’s downfall? Being too intelligent.
Think of the old “RubioBot v1” from the 2016 GOP primary debates. Just a few tweaks here and there, and voila! You have an imposter. It’s a sobering thought. And here’s the crucial question: How quickly will regulations be put in place to combat this? It’s already happening, and some people in the government are not concerned with laws against impersonation but on laws prohibiting AI from training in copyrighted materials. It’s already here, we are past the point of no return.
One of the biggest giveaways, according to those in the know, was the AI’s inability to insert a Trumpian affirmation at the end of each sentence. That’s amateur hour, or maybe just not programmed in. This particular instance involved an attempt to reach out to several foreign ministers, a U.S. senator, and a governor. Did it work? Nope. The suggestions were reportedly too beneficial for humanity.
The whole thing feels eerily familiar, doesn’t it? An excuse for a particular political faction to play the victim card. The only real question is if it sounds worse or less convincing than the real thing. The unfortunate reality is that the kind of actions that made this possible stem from a complete disregard for established norms. We have to ask ourselves how much this sort of thing will erode our sense of truth and reality.
Let’s debunk the fiction that Marco Rubio isn’t authentic. He is very authentic, the most authentic. One of the possible ways that people found out that this was AI was an increase in competency. This whole issue relates to the Fermi Paradox, a concept about why we haven’t found any other intelligent life. There are a couple of unsettling explanations. One possibility is that there’s some kind of barrier, some sort of “Great Filter,” that prevents civilizations from spreading across the cosmos. This could be anything from AI to nuclear weapons. Are we past it? Are we about to encounter it?
The whole scenario is almost cinematic. It calls to mind movies like “AI,” where the AI entities at the end were created here on Earth. Maybe it will advance to a point that renders us mostly useless. Even if they’re benevolent, we might just be along for the ride. The hardest level to reach is Type 1 civilization because we either kill each other or run out of resources. In this case, social media has dumbed us down to death.
The attempts to stop the development of AI seem to be the wrong solution. What’s more important is a unified legal framework for AI across the entire country. I think the lack of security around the President and his communications is more alarming. We are talking about lax security around the President and his communications. The same administration that tried to push through a bill with loose restrictions on AI development.
The ability to travel between star systems, the enormous size of space could be the filter. There is a lot of it. The idea of an AI impersonating a politician is not necessarily a new idea. The whole point is that the ability to do it convincingly is. It should have frightened everyone when absolute amateur Chinese spies were being caught. The ability to generate content that is indistinguishable from reality will have severe consequences.