Houthis accused of using AI voice clone to mislead Yemeni forces

Iran-backed Houthi fighters appear to have used artificial intelligence to clone the voice of a senior Yemeni military commander in an apparent attempt to confuse troops and undermine morale during fighting in the Red Sea port city of Mocha, according to Yemeni sources.

The alleged use of AI came during an offensive on September 10, when Houthi forces reportedly captured Mocha after troops commanded by Lieutenant General Tareq Saleh withdrew following intense clashes, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

During the fighting, an audio recording resembling Saleh’s voice circulated among Yemeni forces, reportedly instructing soldiers to retreat. Saleh’s National Resistance Forces accused the Houthis of using artificial intelligence to clone his voice and deceive troops.

The recording was subsequently amplified on social media by Yemeni activist Adel al-Hasani, whose account has nearly 500,000 followers, according to Basha Report, an open-source intelligence and conflict-monitoring account on X.

The allegations emerged shortly after Anthropic disclosed that a weapons-development cell in northern Yemen had used its Claude AI model to work on missile-guidance software, highlighting growing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in the conflict.