Last summer, a very determined and very angry individual created several dozen fake accounts explicitly to harass and intimidate me and others who often tweet to @slpng_giants.
AI-generated faces were used to make the accounts appear authentic. (1)
AI-generated faces were used to make the accounts appear authentic. (1)
It's not the first time that a person has been harassed on twitter dot com and I'm sure it won't be the last.
What's troubling is the tech. Untraceable faces of people who don't exist. The fake faces are meant to give the appearance of authenticity and it works. (2)
What's troubling is the tech. Untraceable faces of people who don't exist. The fake faces are meant to give the appearance of authenticity and it works. (2)
Had it not been for this Medium post by @kcimc I'd have had no idea what I was looking at. The tech has changed a bit since, but many of the artifacts in the images can still be identified -- missing earrings, warped backgrounds, misshapen teeth, etc. (3)
medium.com/@kcimc/how-to-…
medium.com/@kcimc/how-to-…
Here's a side-by-side of "Jessica" one of the harassment accounts mentioned in @donie's article.
At 200 x 200 (the size of a profile image thumbnail) it would have been tough to see this as anything but an average photo. Closer examination shows a number of AI artifacts. (4)
At 200 x 200 (the size of a profile image thumbnail) it would have been tough to see this as anything but an average photo. Closer examination shows a number of AI artifacts. (4)
The same tech was used to amplify a pro-Trump outlet across social media using 900 fake profiles in a massive disinformation campaign uncovered by @snopes in November 2019. (5)
snopes.com/news/2019/11/1…
snopes.com/news/2019/11/1…
Not gonna speculate on a motive, but I'm grateful for this whole ordeal. I've learned A TON about AI and the person responsible couldn't have known at the time that I thoroughly enjoy this work! I'm a better researcher because this person wanted to scare me into silence. (6)
The threats didn't work (not sorry), and there might be more from me soon on the subject of AI-generated faces. I think we're only scratching the surface as to how this tech has been and will continue to be used for disinformation, manipulation, and harassment. (7)
Major thank you to @donie for having the patience to comb through all of the research and evidence that I had put together. He's been on top of this whole AI-generated face thing for quite some time! (8)
Lastly, if you see any accounts that you think might be using an AI-generated photo, first read the Medium article to see if you can spot any artifacts, then screenshot the account and tag or DM me! Trying to document as many as I can! (End)
medium.com/@kcimc/how-to-…
medium.com/@kcimc/how-to-…
