A NEW generation of AI-engineered deep fakes has upped the ante on the difficulty of detecting manipulated images and videos.
From a first-person perspective of running through a verdant rainforest to a panoramic view of an abandoned city, AI startup Runway demonstrated on Monday how the latest wave of artificially generated video technology is reaching new heights.
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“Introducing Gen-3 Alpha: Runway’s new entry-level model for video generation,” the company shared on social media platform X.
“The Gen-3 Alpha can create highly detailed videos with complex scene changes, a wide range of cinematic options and detailed art directions,” they said.
In a short, punchy clip, viewers can watch a close-up shot of a bald man’s face as he gets excited before shopping for a wig – and the quality is stunning.
“Prompt: A sad, bald, middle-aged man is happy as a curly wig hair and sunglasses suddenly fall on his head,” Runway wrote alongside the video in a publish.
The details of the man’s expressions are incredibly nuanced, especially when viewed in slow motion.
The AI-generated character’s joy upon receiving the wig on his bare head feels very realistic and aligns with the silliness of the wig’s red color and curly texture.
The human’s clear and natural transition between emotions is a huge improvement over previous publicly available AI video generation systems.
AMAZING AI USERS
AI fanatics agreed with Runway – the updated model is incredible in its capabilities.
“This is crazy. Very soon we’ll be able to download an app to make a movie about something we want,” wrote one user on Reddit (r/aivideo).
“Even if they are handpicked, they already look better than Sora,” said a second person, referring to another AI video generation model.
Some people said they were intimidated by the shocking realism of the videos.
“Oh God this shouldn’t exist,” one user responded.
“We’ll actually be able to see what magic would be like if it were real… Holy cow,” a second added.
Many people were particularly impressed by the clip of the man picking up the wig.
“The bald guy in the wig conveyed three stages of emotion in a single message: sadness, surprise, happiness,” wrote one fan.
“That’s the real game changer here.”
DEFENSE AGAINST DEEPFAKES
Here’s what Sean Keachhead of technology and science at The Sun and The US Sun, has this to say…
The rise of deepfakes is one of the most worrying trends in online security.
Deepfake technology can create videos of you even from a single photo – so almost no one is safe.
But although it seems a little desperate, the rapid rise of deepfakes has some advantages.
For starters, there is much greater awareness about deepfakes now.
Therefore, people will look for signs that a video may be faked.
Likewise, technology companies are investing time and money in software that can detect fake AI content.
This means social media will be able to flag false content for you with greater confidence – and more frequently.
As the quality of deepfakes increases, you will likely have difficulty spotting visual errors – especially a few years from now.
So your best defense is your common sense: apply thorough scrutiny to everything you watch online.
Ask if the video is something that would make sense for someone to fake – and who benefits from you seeing that clip?
If you’ve been told something alarming, a person is saying something that seems strange, or you’re being led into a hasty action, there’s a chance you’re watching a fraudulent clip.
NOT VERY PERFECT
However, the Gen-3 Alpha is not without room for improvement.
Even its own developers gave the clip of the man in the wig a 7/10 rating in terms of fidelity and realism.
There are some obvious signs that this could be a deep scam – can you spot them?
Viewers who watch the clip closely will notice that the lighting in the man’s mouth becomes distorted in unnatural ways at the end.
They may also notice that unruly hair appears to float around the man’s head after the wig falls off.
Another sign that the video was generated by AI can be found on the man’s neck – a wrinkle on the right side darkens strangely as he stretches upwards.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
