The technology giant, Microsoft, announced the release of a new tool to detect “deepfakes” which the company said can be used to identify false information ahead of the US election.
The tool, also called Video Authenticator, provides what Microsoft calls “a percentage chance, or confidence score” to identify the content that has been manipulated with artificial intelligence.
“In the case of a video, it can provide this percentage in real-time on each frame as the video plays. It works by detecting the blending boundary of the deepfake and subtle fading or greyscale elements that might not be detectable by the human eye,” the company said in a blog post.
“The fact that [deepfakes are] generated by AI that can continue to learn makes it inevitable that they will beat conventional detection technology. However, in the short run, such as the upcoming U.S. election, advanced detection technologies can be a useful tool to help discerning users identify deepfakes,” it added.
The tool will benefit campaigns and newsrooms, Tom Burt, the company vice president said in a statement. “This will be a long-term effort, but we hope to have an impact in the lead-up to November,” he said.
Deepfakes are created with the help of artificial intelligence to manipulate the content of an image or a video, making it look authentic and real. The tool released by Microsoft will have features to detect altered content “which might not be detectable to the human eye,” including subtle fading and the way boundaries between the fake and real materials blend together in altered footage.
The company said it has made the tool in collaboration with San Fransisco-based AI foundation.
The tool will be made available to media media organisations, political campaigns, and several others.
