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How to Tell if an Image is Made by AI: An Expert Gives the Keys
These 3 tips are an essential part of avoiding scams on the Internet.
In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into various aspects of our lives, distinguishing between images created by humans and those generated by AI algorithms has become a fascinating yet challenging task. With advances in deep learning and generative models, AI-generated images are becoming indistinguishable from those created by human hands. So how can you tell if an image was created by AI?
And it’s not so much that you see images of places or even political fake news, but that AI has opened up a space for scammers to create fake images to “catfish” people on a dating app, or remember the case a few months ago with MrBeast’s deepfake promoting free iPhones on TikTok.
In a recent article in The Sun, Dr. Martin J. Kraemer, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4 and consumer privacy advocate at Comparitech, shared 3 points to take into consideration when cataloging whether or not an image may be fake because, according to the expert, “Like chatbots, AI images are increasingly difficult to distinguish from human-created images.”
“There might not be any indication that you’re looking at an AI-generated image. Instead, you must consider the source and whether you trust it,” he added.
3 key points to consider to know if an image was created by AI to deceive you
- “If possible apply common sense. If the picture is used as a means to emotionally manipulate you, then you are most likely subject to a social engineering attack.”
- “You might also be able to search for the picture on the internet, if it was previously indexed by Google. But be careful, attackers also manipulate Google search results.”
- “If something doesn’t feel right, stop, verify the source, look for other information, and try to trace back the picture or any contextual information.”
This does not mean that every single image on the Internet is fake, but it is an important reminder that it is becoming increasingly difficult to believe that everything you see on the Internet is real.