New research has shown that vocal deepfakes are becoming easier to spot as synthetic recreations of real voices, thanks to the anatomy of our vocal pathways.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a method to simulate images of the apparent movements of a human vocal apparatus (opens in a new tab) while playing a real or fake voice clip.
Professor of computer science and information science and engineering Patrick Traynor and doctoral student Logan Blue wrote that they and their colleagues had discovered that simulations caused by voice deepfakes were not limited by "the same anatomical limitations that humans have." , and some measurements of the vocal tract have "the same relative diameter and consistency as a drinking straw".
Although scientists are beginning to detect deep voice spoofing with simulation and anatomical matching, the risk of an ordinary person being fooled by deep spoofing, which could lead to identity theft, remains an issue.
Ordinary people still do not have access to these tools. Even if they do one day, users will still struggle to interpret this data until intuitive and widely available audio detection tools become available.
Because it is so difficult for normal eyes and ears to detect deepfakes, expert advice on this is not yet known or available. People are also less willing to sensibly criticize what they see and hear on the Internet, on the phone, or in any other medium that creates a level of disconnect between what is actually happening.
“Default disbelief,” where people become skeptical of anything they see and hear that doesn't come from a trusted source, is a useful tactic here. The problem within the problem is that not everyone will adopt this strategy because they don't understand the threat and refuse to commit to it.
Media literacy has been an essential skill for a number of years, as anyone may have come across election misinformation or unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, but schools aren't interested in teaching it (opens in a new tab), and there's always the bridge of that skills gap in adults.
This lack of skills is how fake news has proliferated and become ingrained in our societies and in our relationships with our loved ones. For this reason, anyone concerned about the media literacy of their loved ones should consider investing in identity theft protection for families.
The rise of compelling audiovisual deepfakes has once again raised the need for a structured and pervasive program to educate users on media literacy and the importance of applying critical thinking to anything that is not surrounded by only the thinnest veil. of authenticity.
Via The Conversation (Opens in a new tab)