Remember when we used to be able to relatively trust the internet? When a viral video meant something genuine, rather than a fame-chasing hoax? Since OpenAI’s launch in 2022, we’ve been seeing more and more questionable content surfacing, but it’s becoming increasingly harder to tell if it’s real or not.
Another case in point: that fake Justin Bieber single “Lost myself at a Diddy party”, which blew up quickly. The lyrics “lost myself at a Diddy party, didn’t know that’s how it’d go, I was in it for a new Ferrari, but it cost me way more than my soul”, sounds as though Bieber is talking about being roped in the ‘Diddy’ scandal. The internet, of course, ate it up, especially considering they’re no strangers. Again, it’s an obvious fake.
Here are four giveaways a video may be AI-generated:
Look for a distinguishable watermark
OpenAI’s newest innovation, Sora, is text-to-video generation model designed so users can simply input some text, and it will generate an entire artificial video. Couldn’t be any easier if it tried. This programme, one of the more popular choices for video makers, places a watermark in the bottom right corner (the watermark looks like a waveform that transforms into OpenAI’s logo.)
Now, as you can imagine, it’s not exactly strenuous for someone to simply crop out said watermark. But, if you spot that symbol in the corner, you know exactly what you’re in for.
Keep an eye out for inaccuracies
AI-generated video isn’t all that reliable. It’s new, so luckily being able to spot inaccuracies is easier than you might think. There can often be misalignments between the words being spoken and the lip movements in question. A slight buffer or delay can be all it takes to spot it.
If that’s not the case and all is seemingly ‘real’ looking, watch out for blinking patterns. If people’s blinks are synchronised (almost like a video game from 2010), it’s likely a dupe. Watch the hands too, they can often be a giveaway, you’d be surprised how many videos can be disproven just by the fingers alone.
It’s also important to observe the background, is there a car with a different coloured door? Or a bypasser with no head?
Still not sure? Stick it into a programme to check
There is an abundance of AI-video detection programmes out there, so take advantage of them. One of the most reliable is Originality.ai, which states that one of the reasons that it outperforms other AI detection tools is that the AI algorithms at Originality.ai use natural language processing techniques which require a lot more compute power.
Another solid contender is WeVerify, whose algorithm processes media items, both images and videos, and returns the probability that this media contains deepfake manipulated faces. In video cases, the video is segmented in shots, and probabilities are extracted for every frame of the shots.
It’s as easy as inputting the text or video link into the programme, letting it work its magic, and voilà. It’s worth noting that in order to get the most accurate result, it’s advised to use two programmes when checking if a video is AI-generated, so you can be sure.
Stay online savvy and use your judgement
If a video suddenly appears in the wake of a big scandal and it seems a bit far-fetched, it probably is. Justin Bieber isn’t really in the business of drawing attention to himself these days, so he probably isn’t jumping on the ‘Diddy’ bandwagon either.