Staying Safe Online in the Age of AI

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer algorithms that can create realistic text, images and videos from scratch.

There are plenty of fun and practical reasons for people to use AI. In fact, you’ve probably bumped into it before — customer service chat boxes that pop up on websites are based on AI, as are voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.

But because generative AI is easy for anyone to use, some experts are predicting we’ll see a wave of scammers using it to create fake messages, photos and videos that make scams more believable.

Telling the difference between what’s real and artificial online has become more difficult. So, how can you recognize AI when you see it?

Start with a healthy sense of skepticism toward anything you see or read online. Don’t take photos or videos at face value, especially if they make you feel very emotional or seem too good to be true. It’s common for scammers to try to make people feel angry, emotional or scared, so the potential victim will send money or share personal information without thinking.

Keep an eye out for the following characteristics. If a photo, video or article has several of these, it may be AI-generated:

__In text:__

•Look for typos. Normally, typos are red flags for scams, but AI rarely makes typos. If you see them, it’s likely a human wrote the content.

•Check for incorrect information. While AI doesn’t usually make typos, it might provide factually-incorrect information, like wrong dates or locations.

•Look for repetition. AI may repeat the same keywords and phrases over and over.

•Pay attention to tone. AI writing can have a robotic, formal or emotionless tone, while humans often write more casually or use slang.

•Check another source. If you’re not sure if what you’re reading is credible, go directly to a source you trust to double-check.

__In videos and audio:__

•Look for strange shadows, blurs or light flickers. In some AI-generated videos, shadows or light may appear to flicker only on the face of the person speaking or only in the background.

•Check for unnatural body language. Just like in photos, AI can have a hard time replicating actual humans in videos. For example, a person in an AI video might not blink, or might move strangely.

•Listen closely. Choppy sentences, confusing inflection or background sounds that don’t match the speaker’s location are all dead giveaways it is AI-generated.

•Double-check messages from loved ones. If you receive an odd video or phone call from a loved one, contact that person offline. Some scammers use AI-generated phone calls to impersonate people.

__In images:__

•Think about the context. Remember, scammers usually try to pressure people into a scam by making them feel angry, emotional or scared. Stop and ask yourself: Is the image pressuring you to do something urgent or questionable, like send money to a stranger? Is the context political, and does it seem like someone is trying to make you feel angry or emotional? Is it too funny or too good to be true? Is it a surprising image of a politician or celebrity?

•Zoom in. Check for parts of the image that seem distorted or odd — for example, a coffee cup floating above a countertop. Pay close attention to accessories like glasses or jewelry.

•Look at faces and hands. Less-advanced AI programs can have a hard time making realistic human features, so check for odd-looking human faces, teeth and hands. Other telltale signs are ears, fingers or feet that are oddly-sized, or hands with the wrong number of fingers.

•Look for unusual textures. AI images often have strange-looking backgrounds, an airbrushed look, glossy textures or random blurry spots.

If you do come across AI online, always double-check the information with a source you trust. Get a second opinion from a friend or loved one, or go to a website you know to be trustworthy.

Going forward, it’s likely AI-generated content will be an unavoidable fact of using the internet. It’s very similar to how edited photos became more common online as editing programs like Photoshop rose in popularity.

With that in mind, knowing how to recognize AI will help you stay safe online, avoid scams and spot misinformation.