Deepfakes : Can You Believe Your Eyes?

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Can you spot the imposter? 



Mom always insisted you were unique as a snowflake, irreplaceable and one of a kind. 

Enter the era of deepfakes, where your likeness can be copied and pasted. 

Never heard the term? Don't worry, you're not alone. 

Basically, it's like a high-tech puppet show, but instead of felt Muppets, it uses AI to stitch together videos and audio.

The result? Someone seemingly saying or doing something they never did in real life.

Case in point: Scammers in Hong Kong used a deepfake video call to impersonate a company's CFO and steal a whopping 25 million dollars.  

Scary isn't it? 

Fun Fact: This whole "deepfake" thing actually started on the wild west of the internet – a forum called Reddit – back in 2017.

And let's just say, the intentions of these people weren't exactly butterflies and rainbows; they used it for evil.

As human beings, we rely heavily on our eyes to perceive our environment, and not being able to distinguish between reality and fabricated images poses a great threat to us.

With that being said, I would like to highlight some features of deepfakes to assist you in spotting one (this list isn't exhaustive and will change over time as technology improves):


Inconsistencies in Facial Expressions

Deepfakes might struggle with complex expressions. Watch out for anything that looks...off.

Unnatural Eye Movements

Did that politician blink only once in a five-minute speech? 


Unusual Lighting or Shadows

Is one side of Kim Kardashian's face bathed in sunshine while the other chills in the shade? 

Distortions 

Look for pixelation, blurriness, or other visual anomalies, as these could indicate manipulation.


Resources



 

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