AI deepfakes are a rising problem in democratic societies. Astronomers have tools that are helping detect them.
This AI-generated image of the Pope in a puffer jacket went viral in 2023 and many were fooled into thinking it was real. It was generated with the AI tool Midjourney and was posted on Reddit by a user whose account is now gone. On the right is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the Antennae Galaxies. Image Credit: Midjourney/NASA/ESA
Deepfakes are getting better and better, just like other forms of AI. But as it turns out, a new tool to uncover deepfakes already exists in astronomy. Astronomy is all about light, and the science of teasing out minute details in light from extremely distant and puzzling objects is developing just as rapidly as AI., science journalist Sarah Wild looked at how researchers are using astronomical methods to uncover deepfakes.
This is a promising development. Open democratic societies are prone to disinformation attacks from enemies without and within. Public figures are prone to similar attacks. Disturbingly, the majority of deepfakes are pornographic and can depict public figures in private and sometimes degrading situations. Anything that can help combat it and bolster civil society is a welcome tool.
This isn’t the first time that astronomical methods have intersected with Earthly issues. When the Hubble Space Telescope was developed, it contained a powerful CCD That technology made its way into a digital mammography biopsy system. The system allowed doctors to take better images of breast tissue and identify suspicious tissue without a physical biopsy. Now, CCDs are at the heart of all of our digital cameras, including on our mobile phones.
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