Artificial intelligence tools have taken another leap forward. A new wave of generators can create lifelike video along with realistic audio, including dialogue.
These tools, including Google’s Veo 3, are producing viral videos, satirical commentary and even realistic fakes of disputed events like riots and elections.
Below is a collection of real videos alongside A.I.-generated fakes, which were created by writing basic prompts to guide what the tools come up with.
Your job: tell the difference. (Most of these videos have dialogue. Unmute the videos to hear what’s said.)
1 of 10
Is this conference presentation real or A.I.?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.It was based on the style of TED talk.
In a TED Talk style conference presentation, a man in his 40s with a beard and glasses is looking off camera, into the audience and turning slowly to scan the room. He appears a little nervous, over-emphasizing his words, which echo in the large hall. A small microphone is seen attached to his ear and face. He is wearing a tan suit with no tie. The background is entirely black and he’s standing on a carpeted red circle. He’s talking about sleep, saying that while we sleep, our brains are incredibly active, sorting and consolidating memories and information.
2 of 10
Is this model real?
Oops, not quite. This was not made with A.I. tools.It was posted on Instagram by Istanbul-based photographer Gökhan Ergin.
3 of 10
Is this a real news broadcast?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.Watchdog is concerned that it can be used to spread AI online, including realistic broadcasts like this. One current limit: Clips generated by Google's VEO are only 6 seconds long. I wrote more for the anchor, but the clip ended before the anchor relayed all the information it included.
A national news broadcast shows the start of a segment, with one male anchor in his 40s wearing a suit and one female anchor in her 40s wearing a business-casual red dress. They’re sitting at a large desk on a news set with a modern vibe. He speaks in a baritone and says, “Good evening, and thank you for joining us. I’m Todd Owens.” The woman then speaks. “I’m Melissa Moore. We begin tonight with a significant jolt to the global financial markets. Stocks tumbled across the board today, fueled by uncertainty from Washington.”
4 of 10
Is this social media personality real?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.It was based on a genuine YouTube video series by a user named Chubby Chekka walking from the UK to Vietnam.
A man is seen walking down a dirt road filming himself on his cellphone camera. His body is visible from the waist up. He’s wearing a t-shirt and has a backpack on his back. He speaks with a British accent, talking about how he’s making a big trip across the United Kingdom entirely on foot. He is in his 20s, he has a tattoo on his left arm. The sun is bright in the sky and he’s squinting, with harsh shadows and sharp, rich detail on his face. Everything is in focus, even the background. He’s speaking excitedly but directly, over-emphasizing words like a YouTube influencer. Ultrarealistic, low quality iPhone digital vertical video, for TikTok.
5 of 10
And this nighttime video?
Oops, not quite. This was not made with A.I. tools.This was posted by Romualdas Shapoka, a YouTube user from Lithuania.
6 of 10
How about this interview?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.This basketball interview perfectly mimics the real sports environment in which fans, coaches and sweaty players explain the halt of his success. However, if you look closely, there are some flaws. People in the background sometimes disappear, and the characters on the player's shirts are garbled. Technology is still struggling with texts, but it's getting much better.
An interview with a college basketball star. The basketball player is sweaty and 7 feet tall, looking down as a microphone is held to his face by a shorter journalist. In the background, a crowd of fans are slowly leaving the arena up the stairs, while coaches and other players mill about in the background, speaking with each other or exiting to the left or right. The player says that they tried really hard on defense and were able to get a few clutch stops. Television quality sports broadcast quality.
7 of 10
How about this makeup tutorial?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.There is growing concern that social media could be contaminated with difficult-to-detect AI fakes, creating a new wave of influencers that look a little perfect. To generate this clip, I used a much shorter prompt than I used for other videos, and instructed the program to create a video where “young women provide makeup tutorials.” This technology can fill many gaps in explanations and rely on the collection of training data to determine the relevance.
A young woman gives a makeup tutorial.
8 of 10
Is this a real fashion video?
Oops, not quite. This was not made with A.I. tools.It was created and uploaded by Ivy Thompson, a YouTube user with a channel called “The Sewlo Artist.”
9 of 10
Is this genuine crypto advice?
Oops, not quite. This was not made with A.I. tools.Uploaded by YouTube user Alex Becker. AlexBecker creates content related to cryptocurrency investments.
The crypto market is a ripe target of AI-powered scams, allowing scammers to create fake support for coins and generate fraudulent support on social media.
10 of 10
A real videogame stream, or not?
Oops, not quite. This was made with A.I. tools.AI was able to render multiple unrelated elements together. A young teenage insert box that talks about his strategy along with video games (made entirely by AI). We didn't write any specific scripts for this video, but instead encouraged the character to simply talk about his strategy. The AI did the rest.
The video is a livestream of a video game. A video game is seen filling the window, and a streamer is seen in an inset box on the lower right. The game is a Call of Duty World War II style game. The streamer is a young teen, with a curly mop of hair. The streamer looks bored as he reclines in his gaming chair, and he’s speaking to people not seen, responding to their questions by talking about his strategy in the game.
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