AI can now make faces that ‘look more real than actual humans’ – so can YOU spot the four fakes in this line-up?
ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) can create Caucasian faces that appear more 'human' than the faces of real people, according to a new study.
The study, published in the journal, found that because AI algorithms are typically trained on white faces - it is far better at recreating them.
Dr Amy Dawel, senior author of the paper conducted by experts at The Australian National University (ANU), said: "If White AI faces are consistently perceived as more realistic, this technology could have serious implications for people of colour by ultimately reinforcing racial biases online.
"This problem is already apparent in current AI technologies that are being used to create professional-looking headshots.
"When used for people of colour, the AI is altering their skin and eye colour to those of White people."
AI's ability to create hyper-realistic copycat images of humans means people can no longer rely on physical cues to tell what's real and what's fake.
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"It turns out that there are still physical differences between AI and human faces, but people tend to misinterpret them," Dr Dawel explained.
"For example, White AI faces tend to be more in-proportion and people mistake this as a sign of humanness.
"However, we can't rely on these physical cues for long.
"AI technology is advancing so quickly that the differences between AI and human faces will probably disappear soon."
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It's not only the facial proportions of white AI people that can dupe real-life humans - but also the general 'average-ness' of a face.
When AI is trained on Caucasian faces more than other races, it gains a better understanding of what an average or exceptional white face looks like.
Researchers found that this bias in training data "may lead to White AI faces that appear especially average and therefore, potentially, especially realistic," the study said.
Cause for concern
The findings have spooked researchers, as one of the biggest issues with AI 'hyper-realism' is that people often don't realise they're being fooled.
"Concerningly, people who thought that the AI faces were real most often were paradoxically the most confident their judgements were correct," Elizabeth Miller, study co-author and PhD candidate at ANU, said.
"This means people who are mistaking AI imposters for real people don't know they are being tricked.
Hackers have already begun to use AI for their crooked schemes.
Meanwhile, the UK's has warned of AI hyper-realistic bots disrupting 2024's UK and US elections by spreading disinformation and manipulating media with deepfake campaigns.
Dr Dawel has urged for people to have more tools that can accurately identify AI clones.
Artificial Intelligence explained
Here's what you need to know
- Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a type of computer software
- Typically, a computer will do what you tell it to do
- But artificial intelligence simulates the human mind, and can make its own deductions, inferences or decisions
- A simple computer might let you set an alarm to wake you up
- But an AI system might scan your emails, work out that you’ve got a meeting tomorrow, and then set an alarm and plan a journey for you
- AI tech is often “trained” – which means it observes something (potentially even a human) then learns about a task over time
- For instance, an AI system can be fed thousands of photos of human faces, then generate photos of human faces all on its own
- Some experts have raised concerns that humans will eventually lose control of super-intelligent AI
- But the tech world is still divided over whether or not AI tech will eventually kill us all in a Terminator-style apocalypse