Artificial intelligence (AI) can now create increasingly human-like writing, photos, music, and videos. There are also reports of students using it for cheating, and there is a rising industry centered around AI-authored books that people claim to be their own.
However, there has been at least one reported case of a teacher (apparently incompetent) using an AI to falsely “prove” students to cheat, resulting in everyone failing the course.
Recently, some photographers have won contests by posting AI-generated photos instead of their own. In this case, the photographer had good intentions and returned the award after exposing his deeds.
Luckily, there are currently some fairly accurate ways to detect where a work was created using AI. In this article, we’ll take a look at what tools exist, how they work, and why they’re essential for protecting security and academic and artistic integrity.
Why is AI content detection important?
As AI-generated content becomes more commonplace, the potential for disruptive and potentially harmful consequences increases. A good example is the phenomenon of “deepfakes”, which can create realistic images in videos and in which real people appear to be doing or saying things they have never actually done. There have already been instances of this being used to falsify pornographic content of people without their consent, or to put the word on politicians’ mouths, including Barack Obama. President Trump is arrested (even before he was arrested) and a video is found of Joe Biden singing Baby Shark (as far as I know he never sang it!).
Some of this may seem ludicrous, but it can have detrimental effects on those involved, or on society as a whole if it affects the democratic process.
AI has been used to replicate human voices and commit fraud. In one case, it was used to trick a family into believing their daughter had been kidnapped and extort a ransom. In another incident, a company executive was persuaded to transfer more than $240,000 by a deepfake voice believed to be from his boss.
If students use this tool to cheat on essays or exams, it could damage the integrity of the education system and the reputation of schools and colleges. As a result, students may not be well prepared for their desired careers, and diplomas and certificates may become less valuable.
All of this highlights the importance of strong measures to educate the public about the dangers of AI and, if possible, detect or prevent it. Without addressing this issue, AI can lead to widespread misinformation, manipulation, and damage. So what exactly can we do?
How to detect AI-generated content
Fortunately, there are many methods available to detect AI-generated content.
First, there are digital tools that use their own AI algorithms to attempt to determine if a text, image, or video was created using AI.
There are several AI text detectors available online for free. AI Content Detector claims he is 97.8% reliable and can inspect any text for signs that it wasn’t written by a human. It does this by training a detector on the methods and patterns that tools like ChatGPT and other large-scale language models use when creating text. This information is then matched against the submitted text to determine whether it is natural human writing or AI-generated text.
This is possible because AI content is probabilistic and relatively predictable to computers. This means that a concept called “perplexity” can be used to determine whether a text is likely using language. If it consistently uses the most likely language, it’s more likely that it was created by an AI.
If it’s important to know with high certainty, you can check against multiple AI detectors. Other useful tools are Writer AI Content Detector and Crossplag.
When it comes to deepfake detection, companies such as Facebook and Microsoft are collaborating in the deepfake detection challenge. This project regularly releases datasets that can be used to train detection algorithms. It also inspired a contest on the collaborative data science portal Kaggle, where users compete to find the most effective algorithms.
Recognizing the threat AI-generated videos and images pose to national security, military organizations are also joining the fight. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a tool aimed at determining if an image was created or manipulated by an AI. One tool, known as MediFor, works by comparing AI-generated images to real-world images, looking for telltale signs such as changes in lighting or color effects that don’t match reality. Another tool known as SemaFor analyzes the context between a photo and its accompanying text caption or news article.
Finally, the role that human judgment and critical thinking can play in AI content detection should not be overlooked. Humans have a sense of ‘gut feeling’ which, although not certain, helps in judging authenticity. Take a critical look and apply what we know – could Joe Biden really make a video of him singing along to Baby Shark? but this is essential.
The Future of AI Detection – An Arms Race?
As AI creates realistic content more efficiently and detection tool creators race to catch up, we are probably witnessing only the very early stages of an “arms race” scenario. will be split.
This is not just a battle between engineers. As the impact on society becomes clearer, governments and civil society will find themselves playing an important role as legislators, educators and stewards of ‘truth’. If we find that we can no longer trust what we read, see, see and hear, our ability to make informed decisions in everything from politics to science will be undermined. increase.
Combining technological solutions, human judgment and, where appropriate, informed oversight and intervention by regulators and legislators, will be our best defense against these emerging challenges.
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