VOA科学技术2024--How to Find AI ‘Deepfake’ Images

How to Find AI ‘Deepfake’ Images

　　Fake photos, videos, and audio are spreading online as a result of the rise and misuse¹ of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. And it is getting harder to tell what is real from what is not.

　　Video and image creators like DALL-E, Midjourney, and OpenAI's Sora make it easy for people with little technical skills to create "deepfakes."

　　The fake images might seem harmless. But they can be used to cheat people out of money, steal identities, spread propaganda, and unfairly influence elections.

　　How to tell it is a deepfake

　　Just a year ago, the technology was far from perfect and it was easier to tell that a photo had been created with AI. Fake images then showed clear errors, like hands with six fingers or eyeglasses with different shapes.

　　But as AI has improved, it has become a lot harder.

　　Henry Ajder is founder² of the AI advising company Latent Space Advisory³ and a leading expert in generative AI. He said some widely shared advice — like looking for unnatural⁴ eye movements in people in deepfake videos ­— no longer holds.

　　Still, there are some things to look for, he said.

　　Ajder said a lot of AI deepfake photos, especially of people, have a "smoothing effect" that leaves skin looking very "polished." He warned, however, that AI can sometimes change the photos and remove the signs of AI creation.

　　Look at shadows and lighting⁵. Often the subject is clear and appears lifelike, but elements in the rest of the photo might not seem so real or polished.

　　Look at the faces

　　One of the most common deepfakes is exchanging one face for another. The practice is called face-swapping.

　　Experts advise looking closely at the edges of the face. Does the facial skin color match the rest of the head or body? Are the edges of the face sharp or unclear?

　　If you suspect video of a person speaking has been changed by AI, look at their mouth. Do their lip movements line up with the audio perfectly⁶?

　　Cybersecurity company Norton says that the technology is not ready to create individual teeth. So Ajder suggests looking at their teeth. Are they clear, or are they unclear and somehow do not appear like they would in real life?

　　Sometimes the context of the photo is important. Take a minute to consider if what you are seeing could actually happen.

　　The Poynter journalism⁷ website advises that if you see a well-known person do something that seems unrealistic or unlike themselves, it could be a deepfake.

　　Using AI to find the fakes

　　Another method is to use AI to fight AI.

　　Microsoft has developed a tool that can study photos or videos and rate if it has been changed. Technology company Intel's FakeCatcher uses computer programs to study the smallest parts of an image, called pixels, to say if it is real or fake.

　　However, some of these tools are not available to the public. That is because researchers do not want to help bad actors improve their deepfakes.

　　All this being said, AI has been developing very quickly. And AI models are being trained on internet data to produce increasingly better content with fewer mistakes.

　　That means this advice to find deepfakes could be incorrect even a year from now.

　　Experts say it might even be dangerous to suggest the average person can find deepfakes. That is because even for trained eyes, it is becoming increasingly difficult.

　　Words in This Story

　　fake – adj. not true or real

　　generative – v. to produce (something) or cause (something) to be produced

　　polished – adj. made smooth and shiny by polishing

　　shadow – n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light

　　lip – n. either one of the two soft parts that surround the mouth

　　context – n. the situation in which something happens

　　exaggerated – v. to make (something) larger or greater than normal

1 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

4 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。