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CNN This Morning
Miami Mayor Jumps into Race; Workers Stressed and Disengaged; Jennifer and Brie DeStefano are Interviewed about Deepfake Kidnapping Scam. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired June 15, 2023 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R-Miami, FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Moment for the country where, you know, people are passing a baton from one generation to the next creates generational opportunities for - for many people in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, talking about not relitigating the 2020 election. This certainly is now front of mine again as we hear former President Donald Trump talking still about the election that he claims he won to Joe Biden, which, of course, is not true. But he is also talking about the need for someone from outside Washington, someone to run as an outsider. So, that is how he is presenting himself.
Make no mistake, this is a very uphill battle for him. The race is very crowded. He's not well known at all. The biggest challenge of course will be trying to get on that debate stage in August, the first Republican debate August 23rd. The candidates must have 40,000 donors from 20 different states to make that debate stage. But certainly he's in the race today. A growing field, which likely benefits the frontrunner, Donald Trump.
Erica and Poppy.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: We will be watching all of it.
Jeff, great to have you here this morning. Thank you.
ZELENY: Sure.
HILL: And a really important programming note. Tomorrow, right here on CNN THIS MORNING, Mayor Francis Suarez will join us live.
As we look at where things stand now, Elie, John, Amie back with us, the fact that we have Mayor Suarez now in the race, we have a rather crowded field, which we've been saying for some time now but it just keeps getting a little - a little bit more crowded, can he change the conversation? Can he break through when you're dealing with this many people and one very loud, very well-known main contender? AMIE PARNES, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND SENIOR POLITICAL
CORRESPONDENT, "THE MESSENGER": That's the thing, I mean no one can really change the conversation because the former president is dominating the headlines and the news cycles and it's hard to.
I think what people are looking for now is someone who is going to say, be a Chris Christie, for instance, and say, well, what are you doing? Like, what -- why are you going to elect someone like Donald Trump again?
So it's -- this is a vanity campaign. I don't expect that anything will come of it. But, you know, name recognition maybe for him down the road. And it all benefits the former president really. I mean there's a huge lead right now between the former president and Ron DeSantis. I think everyone else is sort of campaigning for vice president at this point.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's interesting because it seems like there's now sort of two litmus tests as it relates to Donald Trump and his ongoing legal battles. One of them is, do you believe that Donald Trump actually lost the 2020 election when he has said quite clearly, let's forget about 2020. We need to stop claiming that that was stolen.
And it seems like that's sort of become now the majority consensus opinion within this field. But then there's the trickier one, which is, how about this indictment now? How about this documents indictment? And he has struggled and tried to thread a needle a bit on that one. I think that one's trickier, going to trip up some of the candidates more so than the 2020 question.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I think one of the interesting tells this week is, we looked at the Donald Trump, you know, arraignment in Miami and people were saying, you know, where are the barriers? You know, why isn't this place locked down? And then you had a mayor, who is 48 hours from announcing for president, realizing this is a Republican-friendly crowd. It's a crowd that he would like to convert to his voters. And, you know, the police took a -- they had a high presence, but a much softer touch than we would have seen in New York here. So, he's - he's - he is one of -- we just --
HILL: So, you think that's directly tied to his --
MILLER: I think the approach to the event was, we're going to police this but we don't want to make people mad because, you know, the Miami PD are identified with the Miami mayor, a Republican, who is just about to announcement.
But, you know, we had Will Hurd on a minute. You've got a 45-year-old mayor of a big city. So, you know, you see this field growing with people with very different voices from the ones that are dominating.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, guys, very much.
A new poll finds that employees are stressed and bored with work at record levels. Harry Enten, who is not either of those things -
HILL: He promises us.
HARLOW: Is here with this morning's number.
HONIG: He's not stressed, bored or old.
HILL: No. No. Maybe this will help.
MILLER: He's a type a personality. He's like -
HILL: Look, he's a hugger. There you go, Harry's a hugger.
MILLER: (INAUDIBLE).
HILL: Maybe this will help with some of those workplace problems. There as a "Friends" inspired Central Perk coffee house opening up. You've seen these before. Well, this one, not in New York City. The real-life coffee shop is going to open its doors later this year in Boston. That's according to "People" magazine. We'll be right back.
HARLOW: Love that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LEBLANC, ACTOR, "FRIENDS": Come on, you're single, have some hormone.
DAVID SCHWIMMER, ACTOR, "FRIENDS": Yes, but I don't want to be single, OK? I just - I just - I just want to be married again.
MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR, "FRIENDS": And I just want $1 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:38:37]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I generally come in at least 15 minutes late. I use the side door that way Lumbert (ph) can't see me. And, after that, I just sort of space out for about an hour until I -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), space out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: If you're feeling burnt out or lack of motivation at work, you're not alone. New polling shows workers around the world are more stressed than ever, they're more disengaged with their work than ever.
Our senior data reporter, Harry Enten, is here with this morning's number.
A lot of folks.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: A lot of folks. This morning's number, 77 percent of workers have low engagement levels globally, which cost the world economy nearly $9 billion.
Look at this, employees who have a lot of daily stress globally, 44 percent in 2022. That is up from 2009 when it was just 8.1 -- sorry, 31 percent back in 2009. And you know what this is leading to? This is leading to a lot of people quitting their jobs. Record numbers quitting since 2001. Look at that, nearly 51 million in 2022 in the United States. Back in 2021, nearly 48 million. Record numbers are quitting their jobs because they are not happy.
HILL: Is it just that they're not happy? I mean is there something that can do -- be done, rather, to make people happier in their jobs?
[08:40:00]
ENTEN: Yes, so, you know, what are the workplace changes that we can make. And this -- the changes to make your workplace better among the nonengaged. Number one, interestingly enough, is changing the culture, 41 percent. Pay and benefits, 28 percent. Well-being, 16 percent. For example, longer break times at work.
But keep in mind this. There are still a lot of job openings per month. This year we're averaging 10 million. In 2022 it was 11 million. Look at that average from 2001 to 2020, it was just 5 million. So, a lot more job openings for these people to potentially quit their jobs if they don't like it, which a lot of them don't.
HILL: There you go.
HARLOW: Harry Enten, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
HILL: A mother who was the victim of a fake extortion call claiming her daughter had been kidnapped is now urging Congress it's time to act on artificial intelligence. She and her daughter are going to join us live. We'll share their story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: An Arizona mother who was recently the victim of a deepfake kidnapping extortion plot is joining us to talk about that scam.
[08:45:05]
It used her daughter's voice and demanded money. $1 million in ransom money at one point. Jennifer DeStefano testified before Congress this week to sound the alarm on the danger of artificial intelligence, urging lawmakers to regulate this unchartered territory before something like this happens to another family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER DESTEFANO, MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TARGETED BY DEEPFAKE KIDNAPPING SCAM: It was my daughter's voice. It was her cries. It was her sobs. It was the way she spoke. I will never be able to shake that voice and the desperate cries for help out of my minds. It's every parent's worst nightmare to hear your child pleading with fear and pain, knowing that they are being harmed and that you're helpless. The longer this form of terror remains unpunishable, the farther and more egregious it will become. There is no limit to the depth the evil AI can enable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Jennifer DeStefano and her daughter Brie are joining us now.
And, Brie, for people who are not familiar with your story, I do want to point out, you are safe but you have always been safe. You were never in danger here.
Jennifer, though, you had no way of knowing that when you got this phone call. We hear the emotion in your voice there from your testimony. Just walk us through, though, if you would, what those moments were like for you when you thought your daughter's life was hanging in the balance.
JENNIFER DESTEFANO, MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TARGETED BY DEEPFAKE KIDNAPPING SCAM: Yes, it was terrorized even hearing myself speak. It still brings tears to my eyes. It was absolutely terrorizing. I was so helpless and I didn't know which way to turn, I didn't know what to do, and I could hear her begging and crying for me with fear in background.
HILL: You had one of your other children around. There were some - there were some friends around. They were able to get in touch with your husband, get in touch with your daughter, confirm that she was OK, that, in facts, it wasn't her voice.
Brie, do you have any idea how these scammers may have gotten a hold of your voice because they certainly used it to convince your mom.
BRIE DESTEFANO, MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TARGETED BY DEEPFAKE KIDNAPPING SCAM: I actually have no idea because we've tried to trace this all the way back to my social media but I really do not post videos of me using my actual voice. And even if I did, they were from when I was younger and I have a pretty mature voice and my voice was higher. But now I only post videos of me really just competing in sports. Nothing of me actually using my voice. So, it's really still a mystery to this day.
HILL: Does that scare you at all, Brie?
B. DESTEFANO: It does scare me because if they can get my voice in which ways I don't even know, then what else could they do with my family, what could they do with my mom? Do they have her location? Do they have my location? How can they get things and information out of this? HILL: And, Jennifer, I know you're searching for those answers. The
police said there was nothing they could do at the time because no crime had actually taken place. What has it changed, though, for your family?
J. DESTEFANO: It definitely opened my eyes. I had no idea the level of capabilities with AI. We've had a lot of conversations about, you can't believe everything you see, everything you hear, a family code word, some different types of security measurements now that we use. And then we're also really hesitant. I -- if I don't recognize a number or someone reaches out to me, even when AT&T reached out to me to try and find out some more information about this, I didn't respond to them for weeks because I don't know who's really who and what's really real.
HILL: And sometimes it's scary to even pick up your phone because there's the concern, I'm sure we've all heard, that if you say hello then all of a sudden they may have your voice.
When you testified before Congress, do you feel that you were heard by lawmakers?
J. DESTEFANO: I do. I was very happy that both sides have come together on this. So that gives me a lot of hope that it's a unified mission. Senator Alston (ph) took it upon himself to call the Scottsdale Phoenix (ph) Police Department and asked them what kind of protocol they have for other victims of this and they said again they were not able to do anything since no crime was committed and he made a personal commitment that that will stop. So, I do feel like this is actually finally being heard and that action is going to be taken.
HILL: Do you have a sense of what that action may be? Did they give you any indication?
J. DESTEFANO: There's been a couple different conversations. Everything from watermarking so that they have traceability. It's really hard to trace at the moment. Some different types of things. It's really hard to put your hands around exactly what can be done in a sense that it's so vast and so wide and what's already out there and how you dial it back. So, a lot of it's trying to get ahead of it, but there's a couple different opportunities out there.
HILL: Brie, you mentioned, you know, what you post now, what you used to post, this confusion and the big mystery over how they got your voice. How has this impacted you, if it has, and the way you go about your daily life?
B. DESTEFANO: This has impacted me in my everyday life just by being more cautious, you know. I am more tedious just even going out places by myself or just having that plan of action, you know, like what if this actually does happen, just having things with me for protection and just being more aware.
[08:50:05]
HILL: Jennifer and Brie DeStefano, really appreciate you taking the time to join us this morning and to share your story. I know it is still painful but also so helpful for so many families. Thank you.
J. DESTEFANO: Thank you so much for having us.
B. DESTEFANO: Thank you so much.
HILL: Poppy.
HARLOW: Erica, thank you.
What do you think, John Miller?
MILLER: Well, this is game changing in so many ways between, you can already imagine going into a political season, you know, about the fakes and deepfakes that are going to be available, you know, from AI. You can then attach that to mischief here on the ground to, what are the Russians and the North Koreans and the Chinese going to do with that.
But if you get right down to a crime like this, this is -- I mean, the story they just told about a parent hearing the phone ring and hearing their child crying in the background and saying, I messed up, you know, I need help, and then this voice coming on. So the keys here are, the object of that person who is demanding this money, their job is to keep you on the phone, unbroken. They want you to - they want you to transfer funds, do all kinds of -- they don't want you to pick up the phone and find out your daughter's really upstairs in her room doing her homework.
So, the first thing is, you know, to figure out, does this have the signs of one of these scams. And this story is really important in recognizing that. You know, you want to say, OK, I'm not sure this is real. Ask her what her cousin Kelly's dog's name is. You know, things that they haven't factored in there.
HARLOW: Smart.
MILLER: The technology is really affecting crime in ways that are so unanticipated. I had a kidnapping in the NYPD where the person, you know, was missing and the ransom demands were coming in, and we were looking for a ransom drop, you know, with airplanes and surveillance teams and it turns out the ransom was to be sent by Bitcoin.
HARLOW: Wow.
MILLER: So now you don't have a ransom drop. And we're like, Bitcoin, what do we do with that in terms of figuring out where are the kidnappers, where are the victims?
So these challenges will keep coming. And the issue with legislate is, to legislate against it you have to first understand it.
HARLOW: Yes.
MILLER: And we're just guiding the surface.
HONIG: It's a sad reality any time there's a new technology criminals swarm to it and weaponize it and then it becomes an arm race between law enforcement figuring it out, catching up. But public education is a key part of that, right? And I think that's very helpful even just to hear about those experiences that they just had.
HILL: It's so interesting, you say, have - have that word. I mean I think about, you know, our kids are all around the same age and we have a word, if you need me to pick you up at a party and you don't want your friends to know, you just let me know, right? This is your, I won't embarrass you as your parent. This is where you need that same word of, I'm going to ask that word on the phone to know if it's you.
MILLER: Yes.
HILL: To the point of politicians needing to understand this, Will Hurd was telling us in the break, former congressman, this is something that he's really leaning into. Do you see politicians leaning into this because Americans are concerned about it?
PARNES: Yes.
HILL: I mean are they going to be able to speak to it too in the way that they need to and as informed they need to be.
PARNES: They're doing their homework right now and they're playing catch up in a lot of ways. But you had the White House, you had a meeting with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. They were meeting with the top CEOs of these technology companies trying to figure out where, -- what the risks are and the benefits because they feel like the benefits do outweigh the risks, but the risks are there.
HARLOW: Don't you think something that's different now than during social media, Mark Zuckerberg, when he started Facebook, the motto, and it was his own words, move fast and break things. And then, obviously, he's reassessed since. But that is not how someone like Sam Altman is OpenAI, that created ChatGPT, is approaching this. It's very different and he and others are calling for rules of the road regulation now, not after they've taken heat, but now. Should that give us some hope?
PARNES: I think so. I think they're starting to take it seriously, but you're just seeing the machine moving right now. And they're -- Congress is having hearings. The White House is holding meetings. So you're seeing it kind of in motion. But, stay tuned. I think more to come.
HARLOW: Thank you, guys, very, very much.
HILL: So, just how long would it take you to solve a Rubik's Cube? Days? Weeks? Months? Your entire lifetime? That would be me.
HARLOW: Me too.
HILL: For one 21-year-old, it was a matter of seconds. We're going to show you the video next.
HARLOW: (INAUDIBLE) video. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:58:36]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: 3.134. A new title holder solving the original 3 by 3 Rubik's Cube. This thing here that I have never solved.
HARLOW: You didn't do that in the break?
HILL: That - I mean, I did this in the break. Poppy watched me. She's my witness. Solved it in the fastest time ever. Take one more look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Yes, indeed. 21-year-old Max Park. He broke the record in Long Beach, California, over the weekend, 3.13 seconds. Seconds. It takes me longer to just turn the thing let alone solve it.
HARLOW: Max is no stranger to setting impossible records. He holds the fastest times in multiple other cube solves. Didn't know that was a thing. He's also diagnosed, we should note, with autism and his parents say cubing has been good therapy since he was a little kid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he was seven, eight, nine years old, he couldn't like hold pennies or he couldn't open up a water bottle. I mean he couldn't do anything with his fingers. The cube itself was just something that was going to be an exercise.
The competitive aspect was never a component for us to get Max involved with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: This is so uplifting. He serves as an official ambassador for Rubik's. An inspiration to so, so many.
[09:00:00]
What a great ending to the show.
HILL: So great. Yes, I love that. That's a lovely way to send us on our day.
HARLOW: I love it too. We're going to work on this, and we'll see you here tomorrow.
HILL: We'll still be working on it.
HARLOW: And it's still -
HILL: Yes.
HARLOW: And it's going to look like this.
"CNN NEWS CENTRAL " starts now.
I love that you got this.
Thank you, guys.
HILL: Thanks, guys.
