While many people like to think that they’re immune from being fooled by artificial intelligence, it turns out that the vast majority of people cannot accurately determine what’s real and what’s fake. So, can you do any better?
Only 0.1% of People Can Detect Deepfakes
A company called iProov, which describes itself as “the world’s leading provider of science-based solutions for biometric identity verification,” recently conducted a study to determine how many people can identify deepfakes. And the results are astounding.
For the uninitiated, deepfakes are AI-generated images and videos designed to be so realistic thatthey fool people into thinking they’re real. And they’ve been used to make people think they’re talking to celebrities, or that politicians have said things they have actually never uttered.
iProov’s study saw 2,000 people from the US and the UK determining whether images and video were real or deepfaked. And,according to its press release, just two people, or 0.1 percent of the participants, achieved a perfect score.
Reacting to the study, Andrew Bud, founder and CEO of iProov, said:
“Just 0.1% of people could accurately identify the deepfakes, underlining how vulnerable both organizations and consumers are to the threat of identity fraud in the age of deepfakes. And even when people do suspect a deepfake, our research tells us that the vast majority of people take no action at all. Criminals are exploiting consumers’ inability to distinguish real from fake imagery, putting our personal information and financial security at risk.”
Before writing this article, I took iProov’s quiz myself. And to be perfectly frank, not only did I do pretty well, scoring 9 out of 10, I found it pretty easy. Hence, my time of just 44 seconds. Then again, I did get one wrong, proving the fallability of humans when it comes to detecting deepfakes.
Can You Tell What’s Real, and What’s Fake?
you’re able to takethe iProov deepfake quizyourself to see how you fare. And if you manage to accurately determine whether all 10 are real or fake, you will not only score more highly than me, you’ll score more highly than 99.9 percent of the participants.
However, regardless of how well you do, or how badly the original 2,000 participants did, deepfakes are a serious issue. They’re already out there, and being used to spread misinformation and scam people out of money, and the technology is only going to get better.
Deepfakes Explained: The AI That’s Making Fake Videos Too Convincing
What are deepfakes? Here’s a look at the definition and how they’re changing the nature of online video.
So, it’s not only on us to improve our understanding of artificial intelligence in order to better determine what’s real and what’s fake, but on the technology companies at the forefront of this revolution to offer greater protections.
