Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj uses AI avatar to address voters from jail

Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Albania’s capital, Tirana, has spoken to voters through an AI copy of himself, promising free school meals. The video was posted on his official Instagram account and is indeed labelled as AI-generated content.

The main problem is not AI-generated content from a mayor, but the fact that he is in jail, held in custody awaiting trial.

In the four-minute video, a digital Veliaj sits in front of the flags of Albania and of Tirana, opening…