Look for five common ‘distortions’ in AI deepfakes that give them away instantly – a big clue is hidden in the eyes
ARTIFICIAL intelligence is now widely available – and the risks of you being tricked by a faked image or video are growing.
AI “deepfakes” that impersonate famous people, officials, or loved ones are increasingly common and can be very convincing.
Thankfully there are some telltale signs to help you spot these AI fakes.
Deepfakes can be used to trick you into handing over money or sensitive info.
Or they can be deployed to make you believe something that isn’t true, like a shocking piece of “fake news“.
Now cybersecurity experts at McAfee are urging people to look out for the warning signs that you’re being fooled by a deepfake.
SINISTER SIGNS
According to McAfee security expert Jasdev Dhaliwal, there are five signs that you’re looking at at a deepfake.
“The bulk of AI technology still renders fingers and hands poorly,” said Dhaliwal, Director of Marketing and Security Evangelist at McAfee.
“It often creates eyes that might have a soulless or dead look to them— or that show irregularities between them.
“Also, shadows might appear in places where they look unnatural.
“Further, the skin tone might look uneven.
“In deepfaked videos, the voice and facial expressions might not exactly line up, making the subject look robotic and stiff. ”
Make sure to look out for any inaccuracies, as they can give away a deepfake very easily.
You may need to look very closely as the quality of AI fakes improves.
So if you’re looking at an image that troubles you, take the time to examine it closely and see if you can spot any mistakes.
Deepfakes – what are they, and how do they work?
Here's what you need to know...
- Deepfakes are phoney videos of people that look perfectly real
- They’re made using computers to generate convincing representations of events that never happened
- Often, this involves swapping the face of one person onto another, or making them say whatever you want
- The process begins by feeding an AI hundreds or even thousands of photos of the victim
- A machine learning algorithm swaps out certain parts frame-by-frame until it spits out a realistic, but fake, photo or video
- In one famous deepfake clip, comedian Jordan Peele created a realistic video of Barack Obama in which the former President called Donald Trump a “dipsh*t”
- In another, the face of Will Smith is pasted onto the character of Neo in the action flick The Matrix. Smith famously turned down the role to star in flop movie Wild Wild West, while the Matrix role went to Keanu Reeves
OTHER WAYS TO TELL
Of course as AI improves, it becomes harder to tell fake images apart from real ones.
So you need to look at other signs that someone is trying to mislead you.
For a start, make sure that you “consider the context”, McAfee urges.
In deepfaked videos, the voice and facial expressions might not exactly line up, making the subject look robotic and stiff.
Jasdev Dhaliwal
“AI fakes usually don’t appear by themselves,” Dhaliwal explained.
“There’s often text or a larger article around them. Inspect the text for typos, poor grammar, and overall poor composition. Look to see if the text even makes sense.”
And secondly, make sure to question the claim that the image or video is making.
See if the claims have been verified anywhere else.
If the picture or video is making a very bold and shocking claim – or being used to ask for money or personal info – and you can’t find any info about it anywhere, you may be falling for a scam.