Voice cloning is a form of generative AI that analyzes a person's audio and synthesizes a realistic imitation of their voice.

Systems are trained on speech samples; more and longer recordings usually improve realism, and reports say seconds to a few minutes can suffice for convincing clones.

Tools for voice cloning are widely accessible on the open internet and often require little technical skill or cost to use.

Legitimate uses include entertainment and content creation, synthetic voices for accessibility, and AI-driven virtual presenters or news anchors.

Malicious uses include scams, phishing, impersonation, staged emergency calls, and large-scale influence campaigns.

Real incidents include a fake dental-plan advertisement using Tom Hanks' likeness and viral celebrity deepfakes that prompted calls for legal action.

Researchers found humans struggle to detect synthetic speech, with one study showing about 73 percent accuracy even after training.

Experts warn that hyper-real synthetic voices can enable deception at scale and undermine trust and authenticity in communication.

Calls for legal and regulatory frameworks have increased, including public demands for action in media and education guidelines on AI use.

Authorities and security analysts recommend mitigation such as verification words, limiting public audio exposure, privacy settings, and public education about AI risks.

Voice cloning is increasingly realistic and accessible, offering benefits for accessibility and content creation while posing significant ethical, legal, and security risks that require regulation and educator guidance.

Voice cloning is a form of generative AI that analyzes a person's audio and synthesizes a realistic imitation of their voice.

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Content: The scary side of artificial intelligence

The pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI.

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  • Updated On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

Artificial intelligence (AI), as we all know, is the simulation of human intelligence leveraging computer systems and machines. AI programs can continuously learn and evolve with experience. In technical terms, AI systems render the output by churning and analyzing the data for correlations and patterns and help make future predictions using these patterns.

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Today AI is being used extensively in all facets of our lives starting from lifestyle, e-commerce, home appliances, automobiles, navigation, transport, healthcare, agriculture, education, financial planning, chatbots, marketing, cyber security, virtual assistant, industrial automation and many more.

Clearly, we have and are leveraging the strengths of AI to the fullest to automate the routine tasks and make it auto-learn over a period. There’s no doubt that AI has revolutionized the lives of all – organizations, consumers etc. But as they say, “Everything comes at a price”. This analogy is quite true for AI as well, there have been a lot of threats that have emerged using AI and are being utilized by the Cyber criminals to dupe the ignorant users, cause mental stress and extort money.

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I’m not going to delve into all of threats but would like to elucidate some of the real ones that have come to the surface recently:

Voice cloning or mimicry

As the name suggests, it uses machine learning algorithms to simulate anyone’s voice. It requires certain voice data to analyze and learn the specific patterns of any individual. There are certain advantages of cloning a voice that can be used in voice assistants, chatbots, navigation systems and other areas. Voice cloning has existed for a while but was restricted to experts who possess the technical knowledge to be able to use the same. But now AI Voice cloning tools are available on the open Internet that anyone can leverage with literally no technical knowledge or cost to clone anyone’s voice. All you need to do is just Google and it will pop up and get a bunch of both free and paid AI Voice cloning tools.

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In fact, recently one of the global leaders in online protection published a report stating how AI is fueling a rise in online voice scams, with just three seconds of audio required to clone a person’s voice. This is extremely creepy. Just imagine, if a Cyber-criminal clones your voice and tricks your near ones by making them believe that they are talking to you, and request for money due to any distress reasons. In fact, these are not assumptions but real-life incidents that are happening across the world every minute.

Deepfakes AI

Deepfakes AI are being used to impersonate an individual by manipulating videos, images, audios, and other content available on the social media platforms using deep learning techniques. It mainly transforms existing content from one person to another. This is another area that has been exploited by the Cyber criminals in the recent past, and there are a few deepfake cases that have made waves on the Internet. One of the most famous ones being Deepfake created by a VFX artist of one of Hollywood’s most famous male actors. This piece was so well made by rendering thousands of pictures using artificial versions of the actor. There are similar Deepfakes incidents involving other global celebrities and leaders. The damage and misuse of the deepfakes videos could be extremely dangerous for the human society and can be used by terrorists to incite riots and create nuisance.

Creating virtual people

This is another area where AI is being used to create people that do not exist. There are a lot of websites that allow you to generate a random image by just specifying the age group, gender & ethnicity, and you can continue to refresh these images at the click of a button. Be mindful of the fact that these images pertain to people that do not exist in this world. On the similar lines, there’s an emerging trend of AI news anchors that possess a human-like appearance and are fed data that they can read using text-to-speech technology. Recently, there's been a surge of AI-Driven robotic new anchors in multiple language channels. While the main objective of this initiative is to provide royalty free or cost-effective human images for branding and other purposes. However, the overuse of these technologies causes Fear of missing out (FOMO), Feeling of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, and isolation may potentially lead to psychological and emotional vulnerabilities.

One of the Hollywood movies, ‘HER’ portrayed an introverted and lonely writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who purchases an AI virtual assistant personified through a female voice to assist him in his writing job. However, when he finds out about its ability to learn and adapt, he falls in love with it. The film delves into emotional vulnerability and the impact of AI on human relationships.

Needless to say, that the pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI. However, there are certain preventive tips that one can follow to mitigate any such risks. Do spread awareness with your family and friends:

  • Set some code words with family, and friends to verify the identity during emergency circumstances
  • Optimize social media presence by limiting your connections with only known contacts and avoid connecting with any unknown ones
  • Avoid saying ‘Yes’ as a greeting while receiving unknown calls as it can be used to authorize credit card charges or other purposes
  • Continuously update privacy settings on social media to allow viewing by friends and family only
  • Avoid clicking on any suspicious links or calls received without proper due diligence
  • Do not share your passwords and other sensitive information with anyone
  • Verify the credentials of any online information before circulating it through various mediums
  • Avoid public Wi-Fi connections offered at coffee shops or airports, which requires to enter password
  • Closely monitor the time spent by younger generation on social media and online gaming
  • Finally, in case of any suspicion, double check and report it to the host site or concerned authorities
The author is the CIO of MOVIN

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.

  • Published On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

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Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Controversy: What Is Deepfake, A Blend of Realism And Deception? Can Human Eyes Detect It?

The ever-increasing prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly convincing content, such as deepfakes, has raised substantial concerns within the broader social context.

New Delhi: The recent Rashmika Mandanna deepfake controversy underlines the pressing need for a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework in India so that such brazen and misleading content can be checked.

Deepfake Controversy Calls For Legal Framework

Mandanna took to Twitter seeking immediate action against viral deepfake video

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has now joined the chorus in demanding legal action following a reported morphed video featuring his 'Goodbye' co-star, Rashmika Mandanna.

AI's Expanding Capabilities And Its Impact on Society At large

The ever-increasing prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly convincing content, such as deepfakes, has raised substantial concerns within the broader social context. The rise of AI is now sparking a significant debate on the very nature of content creation and the threat that lurks around when it comes to promoting nudity, falsehood, propaganda and misleading news.

Understanding What Is Deepfake: A Blend of Realism and Deception

Deepfakes are a form of synthetic media meticulously designed to resemble a real person's voice, appearance, or actions. These technologically advanced creations fall within the realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI), a subset of machine learning (ML). It involves training algorithms to learn the intricate patterns and unique characteristics of a dataset, which can include video footage or audio recordings of a real individual. The goal is to enable the AI to recreate original sound or visual imagery with startling precision.

Challenges In Detecting Deepfake Speech/Videos

Notably, research has shown that the human capacity to discern artificially generated speech is not entirely reliable. A recent study conducted by researchers at University College London unveiled a surprising finding: humans could only identify deepfake speech with an accuracy rate of 73 percent. Even after participants received training to recognize the distinctive traits of deepfake speech, the improvement was only marginal. This conveys the growing difficulty in distinguishing authentic from manipulated audio content.

Deepfake: The Dual Nature of AI Audio Technology

Generative AI audio technology, while holding potential for positive applications like enhanced accessibility for individuals with speech limitations, also presents escalating concerns. Misuse of this technology by malicious actors, both criminal and nation-state, poses significant threats to individuals and societies at large.

Deepfake: Global Warning on AI's Existential Risks

In a brief yet striking statement, prominent researchers, experts, and CEOs, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, recently issued a fresh warning about the existential threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Their collective voice emphasizes the imperative of addressing the risks associated with AI on a global scale, placing it alongside other global risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.

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What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

Systems are trained on speech samples; more and longer recordings usually improve realism, and reports say seconds to a few minutes can suffice for convincing clones.

Title:

Content: Can AI help someone stage a fake kidnapping scam against you or your family?

You may feel confident in your ability to avoid becoming a victim of cyber scams. You know what to look for, and you won’t let someone fool you.

Then you receive a phone call from your son, which is unusual because he rarely calls. You hear a shout and sounds resembling a scuffle, making you take immediate notice. Suddenly, you hear a voice that you are absolutely certain is your son, screaming for help. When the alleged kidnappers come on the line and demand money to keep your son safe, you are sure that everything is real because you heard his voice.

Unfortunately, scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic the voices of people, potentially turning these fake voices into things like kidnapping scams. This particular scam seems to be rare, but it’s happening.

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How frequent are fake kidnapping calls enhanced with AI?

Such fake emergency scams occur frequently enough that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provided warnings and examples for consumers. Hard numbers that indicate the frequency of these calls aren’t readily available, though, especially for calls known to make use of AI.

Such scams are certainly possible with current AI technology. Fake video and audio of politicians and other famous people are appearing with regularity. Aided by AI, these clips are frighteningly believable.

You may recall the incident in late 2023 involving a fake dental plan advertisement that featured Tom Hanks. AI technology created the video. Hanks had to make a social media post calling out the fake advertisement.

MORE: THE ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ EMAIL SCAM IS TARGETING AMERICANS

How does an AI fake call work?

The AI technology creates a fake by analyzing a sampling of an audio clip of the person it wants to mimic. It uses its ability to interpret incredible amounts of data to take note of multiple characteristics of the person’s voice, allowing it to make a highly realistic fake.

Once the AI is able to create the fake audio, programmers then tell it what to say, creating a personalized message designed to sell dental plans or to convince you that your loved one is in trouble with kidnappers.

Some AI programmers that use the fake audio for helpful purposes — such as for allowing people with medical problems like ALS to regain their “speech” — claim they can mimic a voice with as little as a few minutes of audio clips. However, the more audio that’s available, the more realistic the mimicked voice should sound. Twenty minutes of audio is far better than three, for example.

As AI’s capabilities continue to expand at breakneck speed, you can expect the time requirements to shrink in future years.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

MORE: HOW TO GUARD AGAINST BRUSHING SCAMS

Do I have to worry about falling for a fake AI audio kidnapping scheme?

Realistically, the vast majority of people don’t have to worry about a fake kidnapping scheme that originates from AI-generated audio. If your loved one has a lot of video and audio on social media, though, the scammers may be able to find enough source audio to create a realistic fake.

Even though AI makes this type of scam easier to perform, the setup process still remains too time-consuming for most scammers. After all, scammers in this type of scheme are relying on your rapidly expanding fear at receiving this type of call to cause you to miss obvious clues that would tell you it’s a fake.

The scammers may simply have a random child scream and sob uncontrollably, while allowing you to rapidly jump to the conclusion that it’s your child. This is far easier than using AI to try to source and generate audio … at least for now.

MORE: HOW SCAMMERS USE AI TOOLS TO FILE PERFECT-LOOKING TAX RETURNS IN YOUR NAME

Steps you can take to protect yourself from a fake kidnapping scam

Even though the scammers try to gain the upper hand with the suddenness of the fake kidnapping call and by catching you off guard, you have some steps you can take before and after you receive this type of call to prepare and protect yourself.

1. Ask your loved ones to keep you informed about trips: Fake kidnappers may try to convince you that the abduction is taking place outside your city. However, if you know that your loved one did not leave town, you can be confident that the call is probably a fake.

2. Set up a safe word or phrase: Set up a safe word that your loved ones should use if they ever are calling you because of a dangerous situation or because they are under duress. A scammer is not going to know this safe word. If you don’t hear the safe word, you know it’s probably a fake call.

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3. Use privacy settings on social media: Ask your family members to limit who can see their social media posts. This would make it harder for a scammer to obtain source audio that’s usable in a fake kidnapping audio call. For more information on maintaining and protecting your online privacy, click here

4. Try to text your loved one: Either during or immediately after the call, send a text message to your loved one without telling the caller. Ask your loved one to text you back immediately, so you can converse without tipping off the scammers. If you receive a text back, you can be confident the call is a fake. Consider creating a code word that you can use with the entire family. When you send this code word in a text, everyone knows it’s a serious situation that requires an immediate response.

5. Stay calm and think things through: Finally, although it is incredibly difficult to stay calm when you receive this kind of call, it’s important to keep thinking clearly. Do not panic. Regardless of whether it’s a real call or a scam call, panicking is never going to help. Listen for clues that make it obvious the call is a scam. Try to gather some information that can help you make a clear-headed judgment about the legitimacy of the call.

Kurt’s key takeaways

As AI continues to become more readily available and gains sophistication, scammers will be ready to take advantage of it. Perhaps by then, AI will even the playing field by coming up with ways to help us protect ourselves. Until then, taking steps to protect your family, such as by setting up a safe word, can give you some peace of mind.

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Are you concerned about how scammers may take advantage of AI to create new scams?  Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

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What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

Tools for voice cloning are widely accessible on the open internet and often require little technical skill or cost to use.

Title:

Content: How Nigeria, Other African Countries Can Be Safe From Emerging Cyberthreats | Independent Newspaper Nigeria

How Nigeria, Other African Countries Can Be Safe From Emerging Cyberthreats

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Global threat intelligence continues to grow as geopolitical and economic developments create an increasingly complicated and uncertain world for both businesses and consumers.

Threat actors continue to evolve with new players and threats emerging globally, in addition to novel ways of leveraging or executing older tactics and approaches.

Security experts should assume that no organisation or individual is truly safe from a cyberthreat and that there is an increasing urgency to monitor and research threats resurging and evolving at a rapid pace and scale.

According to Carlo Bolzonello, country lead for Trellix South Africa, “various countries around the world are looking to decouple from Western financial markets through moves like the expansion of the BRICS bloc and the de-dollarisation of their financial markets.

“As a result, Africa will play a more important role in resource-based economies and nation-states. Both allies and oppositions are increasingly interested in gaining leverage here through any data they can extract.”

Ransomware remains an ever-present plague for many organisations worldwide as these families increase in scale and sophistication – including coordinating and partnering with other threat actors through underground forums.

Socially engineered ploys to trick and deceive individuals into compromising their devices or personal information are becoming more cunning and targeted and, simultaneously, harder for both victims and security tools to catch and identify.

“The cyber landscape today is more complex than ever before,” says John Fokker, head of Threat Intelligence at Trellix Advanced Research Centre. “Cybercriminals from ransomware families to nation-state actors are getting smarter, quicker, and more coordinated in retooling their tactics to follow new schemes – and we don’t anticipate that changing in 2024.

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“To break away from escalating attacks and start outsmarting and outmanoeuvring threat actors, all industries need to embrace a cyberstrategy that is constantly vigilant, actionably comprehensible, and adaptable to new threats. That is how we can ensure a one-step lead over cybercriminals in the coming year.”

READ ALSO:  Political Parties Drag DSIEC To Court, Seeks Stay Of Action On Delta LG Polls

Cybersecurity experts and threat researchers from the Trellix Advanced Research Centre team have compiled their predictions for trends, tactics, and threats that organisations should keep top of mind as we approach 2024:

Recent advancements in AI have given rise to LLMs capable of generating human-like text. While LLMs exhibit remarkable technological potential for positive applications, their dual-use nature also makes them vulnerable to malicious exploitation. One significant security concern associated with LLMs lies in their potential misuse by cybercriminals for large-scale attacks.

Leading LLMs like GPT-4, Claude, and PaLM2 have achieved unparalleled capabilities in generating coherent text, answering intricate queries, problem-solving, coding, and numerous other natural language tasks. The availability and ease of use of these advanced LLMs have opened a new era for cybercriminals.

Unlike earlier, less sophisticated AI systems, today’s LLMs offer a potent and cost-effective tool for hackers, eliminating the need for extensive expertise, time, and resources. And this value has not been lost on the cybercriminal underground.

Setting up the infrastructure for large-scale phishing campaigns has become cheaper and more accessible – even for individuals with limited technical skills. Tools like FraudGPT and WormGPT are already prominent in cybercriminal networks. Popular darknet forums today often serve as platforms for the coordinated development of phishing emails, counterfeit webpages, as well as the creation of malware and vulnerabilities designed to evade detection to thousands of users already.

These LLM applications can assist in mitigating considerable challenges encountered by cybercriminals – and we expect the development and malicious usage of these tools to accelerate in 2024.

The internet is now filled with tools that use AI to make people’s lives easier – from creating presentations, generating voice notes, writing argumentative papers, and much more.

Many best-known tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or Perplexity AI come with security mechanisms to prevent them from writing malicious code. This is not the case for all AI tools available in the market, however, especially the ones being developed on the dark web.

It is only a matter of time until cybercriminals have access to an unrestricted generative AI, which can write malicious codes, create deepfake videos, and assist with social engineering schemes and more.

READ ALSO:  Several Injured In Church Suicide Bombing In Indonesia

This will make it easier than ever for unskilled actors to execute sophisticated attacks at scale. Furthermore, widespread leveraging of such tools to exploit vulnerabilities will make root cause analysis of attacks more challenging for defenders. We consider this to be an area to monitor carefully in 2024.

The rise of scams involving AI-generated voices are a concerning trend that is set to grow in the coming year, posing significant risks to individuals and organisations.

These scams often involve social engineering tactics where scammers use psychological manipulation techniques to deceive individuals into taking specific actions such as disclosing personal information or executing financial transactions. AI-generated voices play a crucial role in this as they can instill trust and urgency in victims making them more susceptible to manipulation.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have greatly improved the quality of AI-generated voices. They can now closely mimic human speech patterns and nuances making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between real and fake voices.

Furthermore, the accessibility and affordability of AI voice generation tools have democratised their use. Even individuals without technical expertise can easily employ these tools to create convincing artificial voices, empowering scammers.

Detecting AI-generated voices in realtime is a significant challenge, particularly for individuals who are not familiar with the technology. The increasing authenticity of AI voices makes it difficult for victims to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent communications.

Additionally, these scams are not limited by language barriers allowing scammers to target victims across diverse geographic regions and linguistic backgrounds.

Phishing and vishing attacks are both on the rise. It’s only a logical next step that as the technology for AI-generated voices improves, threat actors will leverage these applications with victims on live phone calls – impersonating legitimate entities to amplify the effectiveness of their scams.

As ransomware groups are primarily financially driven, it’s unsurprising to see them find new ways to extort their victims for more money and pressure them to pay the ransom.

READ ALSO:  Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Endorse Agbaje, Warn Against Attack On Igbos

It would not be surprising for the healthcare, social media, education, and SaaS industries to come further under fire in 2024 from these groups.

Cyberattacks, such as spear phishing and sophisticated impersonation, continue to use email as the main entry point because it can be highly customised and focuses on increased levels of successful exploitation.

The rise of QR code-based phishing campaigns represents an alarming trend. As our daily lives become increasingly reliant on digital interactions attackers are adapting their tactics to exploit new vulnerabilities. QR codes, originally designed for their convenience and efficiency, have become an enticing tool for cybercriminals to use as an attack vector.

One of the primary reasons behind the expected increase in QR code-focused phishing campaigns is their inherent trustworthiness. QR codes became essential in various aspects of daily life during the Covid-19 pandemic – from contactless payments to restaurant menus.

As a result, people have grown accustomed to scanning QR codes without much thought assuming they are safe. This sense of trust can be exploited by cybercriminals who embed malicious links or redirect victims to fake websites. We expect that QR codes will also be used to distribute widely recognised malware families.

The ease of QR code creation and distribution has lowered the barrier for entry into the world of phishing and malware distribution. Anyone can generate a QR code and embed malicious links within, making it a cost-effective and accessible method for cybercriminals to target victims.

Traditional email products often fail to detect these attacks which makes them an attractive option for cybercriminals today. As attackers continue to refine their tactics and craft convincing phishing lures, the potential for success in these campaigns will be on the rise.

To combat the growing threat of QR code-focused phishing, users must exercise caution when scanning codes – especially from unknown or suspicious sources.

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Legitimate uses include entertainment and content creation, synthetic voices for accessibility, and AI-driven virtual presenters or news anchors.

Malicious uses include scams, phishing, impersonation, staged emergency calls, and large-scale influence campaigns.

Title:

Content: What are the dangers of AI tools like ChatGPT?

(Credit: Getty Images)

We need to think about the human aspect of using AI in our everyday lives and how it will influence the ways in which we perceive and interact with one another, says communication scholar Jeff Hancock.

Since its public launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has captured the world’s attention, showing millions of users around the globe the extraordinary potential of artificial intelligence as it churns out human-sounding answers to requests ranging from the practical to the surreal.

It has drafted cover letters, composed lines of poetry, pretended to be William Shakespeare, crafted messages for dating app users to woo matches, and even written news articles, all with varying results.

Emerging out of these promising applications are ethical dilemmas as well. In a world increasingly dominated by AI-powered tools that can mimic human natural language abilities, what does it mean to be truthful and authentic?

Hancock has been tackling this issue and the impact of AI on interpersonal relationships in his research.

Hancock argues that the Turing test era is over: Bots now sound so real that it has become impossible for people to distinguish between humans and machines in conversations, which poses huge risks for manipulation and deception at mass scale. How then can these tools be used for good and not harm is a question that has Hancock and others worried.

While he sees the potential of AI to help how people do their work more effectively, Hancock sees pitfalls as well. Ultimately, he says, our challenge will be to develop AI that supports human goals and to educate people how best to use these new technologies in effective and ethical ways.

For several years now, Hancock has been examining how AI-mediated communication is transforming—and potentially, undermining—interpersonal relationships.

Here, he explains some of the challenges tools like ChatGPT pose and how they will shape our lives going forward:

Q

How do you see AI-mediated tools like ChatGPT fitting into people’s lives?

A

Much like the calculator didn’t replace the need to take math or for people to work the till or to be accountants, I think we will find ways of using AI-mediated communication as a tool. I think the more we think of it as an assistant or a tool that is incredibly powerful, the more we can envision how it will be useful. But it’s important to note that these systems are not ready to plug and play right off the shelf. They’re not there yet, and neither are we humans.

ChatGPT is being used by millions of people, many of whom don’t have any training or education about when it is ethical to use these systems or how to ensure that they are not causing harm.

Technically, systems like ChatGPT are genuinely far better than things that we’ve had in the past, but there are still a lot of issues. They do not currently provide accurate information at very high rates. The best ones produce useful information that’s accurate 50% or 70% of the time, though that will likely change with new versions like the imminent GPT4. They can also produce falsehoods or make stuff up—what we call “hallucinating.” It can take a lot of work to actually get them to produce something good. Prompts are difficult and produce really different responses.

Q

Are there any areas in particular where you see an opportunity for ChatGPT to help people be better at their job or do it more effectively?

A

I think there’s a whole new world of communication that this will usher in. It really feels like an inflection point. For example, there is a tremendous amount of potential in the initial levels of therapy and coaching. Say you are procrastinating at work, or you need help negotiating, or you are having some anxiety in your job. Meeting with an actual counselor or coach is difficult and can be expensive. These systems offer ways of getting access to that kind of help, at least at the initial stages of working on a problem. I think the best combination will be when ChatGPT can support an actual coach, who can then help more people more effectively.

ChatGPT could be useful at doing some of the prep work that coaches do as they try to understand their clients’ needs. Sometimes these are standard questions that a system like ChatGPT could be trained to ask the client and then synthesize for the coach. This could potentially free the coach up to engage more deeply with that client or to help more clients.

Of course, we still don’t know how people will react to having bots involved in these kinds of conversations. Some work we did a few years ago showed that people’s emotional, relational, and psychological outcomes from conversations with bots could be similar to those with a human. There is potential there, but care will certainly be needed in introducing these kinds of systems into communication like this.

Q

One area you study is trust and deception. How do you see AI affecting the way people trust one another?

A

I think if the machine is helping you be you, then I think you can be authentic. AI systems can be optimized for a whole host of things and some of those can be interpersonal. You can say, “I want an online dating description and I want to come across as very funny, warm, and open.” I just did an exercise in class, getting the students to use ChatGPT to create an online dating profile, and was shocked when all the students says that ChatGPT’s description was an accurate representation of themselves! They also agreed that they would modify it a little, but that it was surprisingly good. That could really help a person, especially for people who experience communication anxiety or aren’t very good at expressing themselves.

But for the people who are trying to use those descriptions as signals of what a person is like, our usual process of impression formation breaks down because it wasn’t you who came across as very funny, warm, and open—it was a machine doing that for you. We will have a lot of responsibility about how we go about using these tools. I think it’s really about how we as humans choose to use it.

Q

Can we trust these systems?

A

There are a lot of technical questions, like how the AI was developed. A widespread concern is that these systems are relying on biased data for training. But there are also deeper philosophical questions around consciousness and intention. What does it mean for a machine to be deceptive? It can lie about who it is and talk about a lived experience it did not have, which is deceptive. But most definitions of deception include an intent to mislead someone. If the system doesn’t have that intent, is it deceptive? Does it come back to the person that was asking the questions or getting the system to be deceptive? I don’t know. There are more questions than answers at this point.

Q

You also study disinformation. What worries you about how AI can be used for nefarious purposes?

A

I also want to recognize that there are real dangers for misuse here. Renée DiResta, my colleague and collaborator in the Stanford Internet Observatory, has a report out that lays out some of the main ways that these systems can be a threat around misinformation, and possible solutions. As Renée and the report note, once bad actors are able to use language models to run influence campaigns, they will be able to generate massive amounts of content quite cheaply, and potentially develop novel tactics for large-scale persuasion. It has the potential to transform and exacerbate the problem of misinformation, and so we need to start working on solutions now.

Q

What can be done to authenticate communication?

A

In the last year or so there have been a number of papers showing that these large language models and chatbots can no longer be differentiated from their human counterparts.

So how to authenticate communication is a big question. To come across as authentic, you could say, “This was written or partly written by AI.” If you do that, you’re being honest, but research shows that people could perceive you as less sincere—there is a paper that came out that found if you apologize and indicate that you used AI to help you write your apology, people view it as less sincere. In one of our papers, we showed that if you apply for a job and say you used AI to help write it, people will perceive you as less competent. There are costs if you disclose you used AI, but if you don’t disclose it, are you coming across as inauthentic? These questions around authenticity, deception, and trust are going to be incredibly important, and we need a lot more research to help us understand how AI will influence how we interact with other humans.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

Real incidents include a fake dental-plan advertisement using Tom Hanks' likeness and viral celebrity deepfakes that prompted calls for legal action.

Researchers found humans struggle to detect synthetic speech, with one study showing about 73 percent accuracy even after training.

What has the US Federal Trade Commission warned about the use of voice cloning tools?

Difficult to distinguish from human voice

Experts warn that hyper-real synthetic voices can enable deception at scale and undermine trust and authenticity in communication.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

Calls for legal and regulatory frameworks have increased, including public demands for action in media and education guidelines on AI use.

Title:

Content: Opinion
Classroom Technology Opinion

AI Can Teach Students a Powerful Lesson About the Truth

How I’m harnessing ChatGPT in the classroom
By Rachna Nath — September 07, 2023 3 min read
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After the release of ChatGPT last November, the education world was taken by a wave of uneasiness and doubt. I realized that many of my fellow educators are worried about the technology’s use in a classroom setting. But students’ use of this new generative artificial intelligence tool to plagiarize, to take shortcuts, and to not do the actual writing they need to do is only one of the many interpretations of this tool’s implications for education. As a person who tends to be surfing on the edge of new technological waves, I found this to be the most exciting technology I have ever encountered.

What we teachers desperately need, though, is an ocean of examples and training. We need to see and share examples of generative AI—any type of artificial intelligence that can be used to create new text, images, video, audio, code, or data—being used across the curriculum. We need catalogs of new lesson plans and new curriculum.

And we need training on theoretical and practical levels: training to understand what artificial intelligence actually is and where it stands in the development timeline and training about how to integrate it into our classes.

Anecdotes from peers, administrators, and news stories aren’t helping. They are confusing and often sensationalized projections of doom and rampant plagiarizing.

Students will naturally try their best to make use of any technology they can to make their life easy. I’m not naïve about that. Right now, we are all experimenting with AI, and I’m OK with my students’ occasional lapses.

Remember that we had to deal with this in the early days of the internet when anyone could lift the words off a research paper and drop them into their own essay. But then, just as now, we teachers started having conversations with our students. The basis of that conversation was being able to spot the plagiarism, but the rest was on us.

The problem is that my fellow teachers and I cannot have those productive conversations about generative AI if we do not understand it. We need models of what is or isn’t acceptable when using this technology. At this very moment—and completely on the fly—we’re setting the standard of what is acceptable, and each one of us has a different perspective. Consequently, drawing the line between cheating and not cheating cannot be universally standardized.

My contribution to this conversation, then, is to share my experiences. When ChatGPT first launched, I told my students, “Go for it!” Go ahead and use the technology but then not only cite the sources, get to the primary source. Don’t settle for the article reporting the study, find the original study. Then, when you get the primary source, report that.

Here’s what happened: Students had to start thinking more about the information presented. In fact, they had to work harder to confirm the source and the information the bot gave them.

This lesson—how to track back to a primary source and evaluate the information presented—is one of the most essential skills students can learn today. We are constantly bombarded with fake information presented as fact even by previously trustworthy media outlets. There is no standard of truth on the internet, and generative AI has absolutely no ability to confirm the veracity of what it is presenting as fact. Sometimes, it’s not even presenting fact at all. Humans do that, and my students are learning how to be cynical readers, perhaps better now than ever.

So, my advice to teachers is to use any and all the generative AI you can get your hands on. Then experience—for yourself—verification of the information. Track it back to the source because in doing so, you’ll land on the adjustments you need to make in your classes next year.

If you use an AI detector like Turnitin or GPTZero or even ChatGPT itself, when it identifies a segment or even an entire paper as written by AI, also consider the citations that go along with it. Run a plagiarism check, too. I realize this is extra labor, and it adds time, but this phase will be short-lived. You’ll quickly start to see how to adjust your lessons, how to recognize generative AI with or without detection tools.

The mechanics of writing are absolutely essential skills, but the ability to evaluate and recognize truth is the skill that students may need the most, now and in the future.

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Title:

Content:   • YOMIURI EDITORIAL
  • Education and AI

Don’t Let Use Hinder Development of Students’ Thinking Abilities

The emergence of highly capable artificial intelligence is shaking the field of education. The use of AI to replace human thinking is extremely problematic. Rules must be established urgently.

ChatGPT, a conversational AI model developed by a U.S. start-up, is able to produce highly accurate text by learning the relationships between words and other factors in text.

Since its release last November, the number of users has increased rapidly and is said to already exceed 100 million worldwide. Reports and papers can also be created instantly using this tool.

At the current stage, there is a risk of copyright infringement or the possibility of lies being included in the generated text, as well as personal or confidential information being exposed from the content of questions given to the AI.

However, in a survey conducted by the student newspaper of Stanford University in the United States, 17% of students reportedly said that they have used ChatGPT for examinations and homework. The situation must be similar in Japan. It is only natural that opinions have surfaced calling the situation a “crisis in education.”

Regarding students’ writing of reports and papers, the University of Tokyo, Sophia University and other universities have begun to restrict or prohibit the use of AI. Some universities have warned students about the use of AI at their entrance ceremonies.

New curriculum guidelines that emphasize the development of thinking and expressive abilities began to be rolled out at elementary, junior high and high schools from the 2020 academic year onward. In this regard, if AI is used freely by children, writing instruction and other lessons to this end will no longer be meaningful.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will prepare guidelines about the use of AI in schools and present points to keep in mind. This is a serious issue that affects the purpose and significance of education. The education ministry must hasten the creation of effective guidelines.

It is said to be difficult for teachers to detect whether students had an AI write a text for them. Some students have even posted on the internet that they had an AI write their self-introductions to be submitted to companies.

It may be necessary to consider measures such as having students gather at the venues for university examinations and corporate recruiting activities and use handwriting or oral presentations.

Advancement of technology itself is desirable. Depending on how it is used, it may lead to the creation of new value. However, it is difficult to say that it is appropriate to be so eager to use technology without sufficient discussion.

Thinking is essential for making judgments and expressing oneself. It is not right to entrust AI to do the work of “thinking,” which is the very essence of being human, just because it is troublesome to do so.

As Blaise Pascal said, “Man is but a reed … but he is a thinking reed.” Human dignity lies in thinking. This fact must not be forgotten.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 25, 2023)

Authorities and security analysts recommend mitigation such as verification words, limiting public audio exposure, privacy settings, and public education about AI risks.

Voice cloning is increasingly realistic and accessible, offering benefits for accessibility and content creation while posing significant ethical, legal, and security risks that require regulation and educator guidance.


Voice cloning uses machine learning algorithms to simulate a person's voice and requires audio data to learn distinctive voice patterns.

Developers train models on datasets of audio or video so the system can learn patterns and recreate speech and visual likenesses, which is the technical basis for deepfakes and synthetic media.

Modern systems can produce convincing voice clones from surprisingly short audio samples, and reporting indicates the amount of audio required is shrinking.

Tools that once required expert skill are now available on the open internet as free and paid services that often need little technical knowledge.

Reported uses include entertainment and media production, synthetic news anchors, voice assistants, chatbots, navigation systems, and accessibility support for people with severe speech limitations.

Misuses documented in the reporting include scams such as vishing and fake kidnapping calls, impersonation, social engineering, and use in misinformation campaigns.

News reporting gives concrete examples such as a fake dental-plan advertisement created with AI that used Tom Hanks's likeness and a viral deepfake video involving actress Rashmika Mandanna that led to calls for legal action.

Research shows humans have difficulty reliably detecting synthetic speech; one University College London study reported about 73 percent accuracy in identifying deepfake speech.

Communication scholars warn that AI systems now sound so real that distinguishing human from machine in conversation is becoming impossible, increasing risks of manipulation and deception at scale.

Cybersecurity analysts note that advanced language models and specialized tools (for example FraudGPT and WormGPT) lower the barrier for criminals to generate phishing, malware, and voice-based social engineering at scale.

Regulatory and institutional responses described in the material include FTC warnings about AI-enabled scams, public calls for legal and regulatory frameworks, and some universities restricting or prohibiting student use of AI tools.

Ethical challenges identified include deception, erosion of authenticity and trust, potential emotional and psychological harm, and evidence that disclosure of AI assistance can make communications be perceived as less sincere or less competent.

Suggested mitigations across reports include practical verification measures such as safe words or codes, tightening privacy settings to limit available source audio, public education and training, continued detection research, and developing legal guidelines.

Voice cloning is increasingly realistic and accessible, and while it offers legitimate uses for media and accessibility, it also creates clear ethical, legal, and security risks that demand verification practices, user training, detection work, and regulation.

Voice cloning uses machine learning algorithms to simulate a person's voice and requires audio data to learn distinctive voice patterns.

Title:

Content: The scary side of artificial intelligence

The pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI.

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  • Updated On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

Artificial intelligence (AI), as we all know, is the simulation of human intelligence leveraging computer systems and machines. AI programs can continuously learn and evolve with experience. In technical terms, AI systems render the output by churning and analyzing the data for correlations and patterns and help make future predictions using these patterns.

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Today AI is being used extensively in all facets of our lives starting from lifestyle, e-commerce, home appliances, automobiles, navigation, transport, healthcare, agriculture, education, financial planning, chatbots, marketing, cyber security, virtual assistant, industrial automation and many more.

Clearly, we have and are leveraging the strengths of AI to the fullest to automate the routine tasks and make it auto-learn over a period. There’s no doubt that AI has revolutionized the lives of all – organizations, consumers etc. But as they say, “Everything comes at a price”. This analogy is quite true for AI as well, there have been a lot of threats that have emerged using AI and are being utilized by the Cyber criminals to dupe the ignorant users, cause mental stress and extort money.

continued below

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I’m not going to delve into all of threats but would like to elucidate some of the real ones that have come to the surface recently:

Voice cloning or mimicry

As the name suggests, it uses machine learning algorithms to simulate anyone’s voice. It requires certain voice data to analyze and learn the specific patterns of any individual. There are certain advantages of cloning a voice that can be used in voice assistants, chatbots, navigation systems and other areas. Voice cloning has existed for a while but was restricted to experts who possess the technical knowledge to be able to use the same. But now AI Voice cloning tools are available on the open Internet that anyone can leverage with literally no technical knowledge or cost to clone anyone’s voice. All you need to do is just Google and it will pop up and get a bunch of both free and paid AI Voice cloning tools.

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In fact, recently one of the global leaders in online protection published a report stating how AI is fueling a rise in online voice scams, with just three seconds of audio required to clone a person’s voice. This is extremely creepy. Just imagine, if a Cyber-criminal clones your voice and tricks your near ones by making them believe that they are talking to you, and request for money due to any distress reasons. In fact, these are not assumptions but real-life incidents that are happening across the world every minute.

Deepfakes AI

Deepfakes AI are being used to impersonate an individual by manipulating videos, images, audios, and other content available on the social media platforms using deep learning techniques. It mainly transforms existing content from one person to another. This is another area that has been exploited by the Cyber criminals in the recent past, and there are a few deepfake cases that have made waves on the Internet. One of the most famous ones being Deepfake created by a VFX artist of one of Hollywood’s most famous male actors. This piece was so well made by rendering thousands of pictures using artificial versions of the actor. There are similar Deepfakes incidents involving other global celebrities and leaders. The damage and misuse of the deepfakes videos could be extremely dangerous for the human society and can be used by terrorists to incite riots and create nuisance.

Creating virtual people

This is another area where AI is being used to create people that do not exist. There are a lot of websites that allow you to generate a random image by just specifying the age group, gender & ethnicity, and you can continue to refresh these images at the click of a button. Be mindful of the fact that these images pertain to people that do not exist in this world. On the similar lines, there’s an emerging trend of AI news anchors that possess a human-like appearance and are fed data that they can read using text-to-speech technology. Recently, there's been a surge of AI-Driven robotic new anchors in multiple language channels. While the main objective of this initiative is to provide royalty free or cost-effective human images for branding and other purposes. However, the overuse of these technologies causes Fear of missing out (FOMO), Feeling of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, and isolation may potentially lead to psychological and emotional vulnerabilities.

One of the Hollywood movies, ‘HER’ portrayed an introverted and lonely writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who purchases an AI virtual assistant personified through a female voice to assist him in his writing job. However, when he finds out about its ability to learn and adapt, he falls in love with it. The film delves into emotional vulnerability and the impact of AI on human relationships.

Needless to say, that the pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI. However, there are certain preventive tips that one can follow to mitigate any such risks. Do spread awareness with your family and friends:

  • Set some code words with family, and friends to verify the identity during emergency circumstances
  • Optimize social media presence by limiting your connections with only known contacts and avoid connecting with any unknown ones
  • Avoid saying ‘Yes’ as a greeting while receiving unknown calls as it can be used to authorize credit card charges or other purposes
  • Continuously update privacy settings on social media to allow viewing by friends and family only
  • Avoid clicking on any suspicious links or calls received without proper due diligence
  • Do not share your passwords and other sensitive information with anyone
  • Verify the credentials of any online information before circulating it through various mediums
  • Avoid public Wi-Fi connections offered at coffee shops or airports, which requires to enter password
  • Closely monitor the time spent by younger generation on social media and online gaming
  • Finally, in case of any suspicion, double check and report it to the host site or concerned authorities
The author is the CIO of MOVIN

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.

  • Published On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

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Content: trendingNow,recommendedStoriesenglish2685224

Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Controversy: What Is Deepfake, A Blend of Realism And Deception? Can Human Eyes Detect It?

The ever-increasing prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly convincing content, such as deepfakes, has raised substantial concerns within the broader social context.

New Delhi: The recent Rashmika Mandanna deepfake controversy underlines the pressing need for a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework in India so that such brazen and misleading content can be checked.

Deepfake Controversy Calls For Legal Framework

Mandanna took to Twitter seeking immediate action against viral deepfake video

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has now joined the chorus in demanding legal action following a reported morphed video featuring his 'Goodbye' co-star, Rashmika Mandanna.

AI's Expanding Capabilities And Its Impact on Society At large

The ever-increasing prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly convincing content, such as deepfakes, has raised substantial concerns within the broader social context. The rise of AI is now sparking a significant debate on the very nature of content creation and the threat that lurks around when it comes to promoting nudity, falsehood, propaganda and misleading news.

Understanding What Is Deepfake: A Blend of Realism and Deception

Deepfakes are a form of synthetic media meticulously designed to resemble a real person's voice, appearance, or actions. These technologically advanced creations fall within the realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI), a subset of machine learning (ML). It involves training algorithms to learn the intricate patterns and unique characteristics of a dataset, which can include video footage or audio recordings of a real individual. The goal is to enable the AI to recreate original sound or visual imagery with startling precision.

Challenges In Detecting Deepfake Speech/Videos

Notably, research has shown that the human capacity to discern artificially generated speech is not entirely reliable. A recent study conducted by researchers at University College London unveiled a surprising finding: humans could only identify deepfake speech with an accuracy rate of 73 percent. Even after participants received training to recognize the distinctive traits of deepfake speech, the improvement was only marginal. This conveys the growing difficulty in distinguishing authentic from manipulated audio content.

Deepfake: The Dual Nature of AI Audio Technology

Generative AI audio technology, while holding potential for positive applications like enhanced accessibility for individuals with speech limitations, also presents escalating concerns. Misuse of this technology by malicious actors, both criminal and nation-state, poses significant threats to individuals and societies at large.

Deepfake: Global Warning on AI's Existential Risks

In a brief yet striking statement, prominent researchers, experts, and CEOs, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, recently issued a fresh warning about the existential threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Their collective voice emphasizes the imperative of addressing the risks associated with AI on a global scale, placing it alongside other global risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.

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What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

Developers train models on datasets of audio or video so the system can learn patterns and recreate speech and visual likenesses, which is the technical basis for deepfakes and synthetic media.

Modern systems can produce convincing voice clones from surprisingly short audio samples, and reporting indicates the amount of audio required is shrinking.

Title:

Content: Can AI help someone stage a fake kidnapping scam against you or your family?

You may feel confident in your ability to avoid becoming a victim of cyber scams. You know what to look for, and you won’t let someone fool you.

Then you receive a phone call from your son, which is unusual because he rarely calls. You hear a shout and sounds resembling a scuffle, making you take immediate notice. Suddenly, you hear a voice that you are absolutely certain is your son, screaming for help. When the alleged kidnappers come on the line and demand money to keep your son safe, you are sure that everything is real because you heard his voice.

Unfortunately, scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic the voices of people, potentially turning these fake voices into things like kidnapping scams. This particular scam seems to be rare, but it’s happening.

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How frequent are fake kidnapping calls enhanced with AI?

Such fake emergency scams occur frequently enough that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provided warnings and examples for consumers. Hard numbers that indicate the frequency of these calls aren’t readily available, though, especially for calls known to make use of AI.

Such scams are certainly possible with current AI technology. Fake video and audio of politicians and other famous people are appearing with regularity. Aided by AI, these clips are frighteningly believable.

You may recall the incident in late 2023 involving a fake dental plan advertisement that featured Tom Hanks. AI technology created the video. Hanks had to make a social media post calling out the fake advertisement.

MORE: THE ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ EMAIL SCAM IS TARGETING AMERICANS

How does an AI fake call work?

The AI technology creates a fake by analyzing a sampling of an audio clip of the person it wants to mimic. It uses its ability to interpret incredible amounts of data to take note of multiple characteristics of the person’s voice, allowing it to make a highly realistic fake.

Once the AI is able to create the fake audio, programmers then tell it what to say, creating a personalized message designed to sell dental plans or to convince you that your loved one is in trouble with kidnappers.

Some AI programmers that use the fake audio for helpful purposes — such as for allowing people with medical problems like ALS to regain their “speech” — claim they can mimic a voice with as little as a few minutes of audio clips. However, the more audio that’s available, the more realistic the mimicked voice should sound. Twenty minutes of audio is far better than three, for example.

As AI’s capabilities continue to expand at breakneck speed, you can expect the time requirements to shrink in future years.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

MORE: HOW TO GUARD AGAINST BRUSHING SCAMS

Do I have to worry about falling for a fake AI audio kidnapping scheme?

Realistically, the vast majority of people don’t have to worry about a fake kidnapping scheme that originates from AI-generated audio. If your loved one has a lot of video and audio on social media, though, the scammers may be able to find enough source audio to create a realistic fake.

Even though AI makes this type of scam easier to perform, the setup process still remains too time-consuming for most scammers. After all, scammers in this type of scheme are relying on your rapidly expanding fear at receiving this type of call to cause you to miss obvious clues that would tell you it’s a fake.

The scammers may simply have a random child scream and sob uncontrollably, while allowing you to rapidly jump to the conclusion that it’s your child. This is far easier than using AI to try to source and generate audio … at least for now.

MORE: HOW SCAMMERS USE AI TOOLS TO FILE PERFECT-LOOKING TAX RETURNS IN YOUR NAME

Steps you can take to protect yourself from a fake kidnapping scam

Even though the scammers try to gain the upper hand with the suddenness of the fake kidnapping call and by catching you off guard, you have some steps you can take before and after you receive this type of call to prepare and protect yourself.

1. Ask your loved ones to keep you informed about trips: Fake kidnappers may try to convince you that the abduction is taking place outside your city. However, if you know that your loved one did not leave town, you can be confident that the call is probably a fake.

2. Set up a safe word or phrase: Set up a safe word that your loved ones should use if they ever are calling you because of a dangerous situation or because they are under duress. A scammer is not going to know this safe word. If you don’t hear the safe word, you know it’s probably a fake call.

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3. Use privacy settings on social media: Ask your family members to limit who can see their social media posts. This would make it harder for a scammer to obtain source audio that’s usable in a fake kidnapping audio call. For more information on maintaining and protecting your online privacy, click here

4. Try to text your loved one: Either during or immediately after the call, send a text message to your loved one without telling the caller. Ask your loved one to text you back immediately, so you can converse without tipping off the scammers. If you receive a text back, you can be confident the call is a fake. Consider creating a code word that you can use with the entire family. When you send this code word in a text, everyone knows it’s a serious situation that requires an immediate response.

5. Stay calm and think things through: Finally, although it is incredibly difficult to stay calm when you receive this kind of call, it’s important to keep thinking clearly. Do not panic. Regardless of whether it’s a real call or a scam call, panicking is never going to help. Listen for clues that make it obvious the call is a scam. Try to gather some information that can help you make a clear-headed judgment about the legitimacy of the call.

Kurt’s key takeaways

As AI continues to become more readily available and gains sophistication, scammers will be ready to take advantage of it. Perhaps by then, AI will even the playing field by coming up with ways to help us protect ourselves. Until then, taking steps to protect your family, such as by setting up a safe word, can give you some peace of mind.

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What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

Tools that once required expert skill are now available on the open internet as free and paid services that often need little technical knowledge.

Title:

Content: How Nigeria, Other African Countries Can Be Safe From Emerging Cyberthreats | Independent Newspaper Nigeria

How Nigeria, Other African Countries Can Be Safe From Emerging Cyberthreats

0 8

Global threat intelligence continues to grow as geopolitical and economic developments create an increasingly complicated and uncertain world for both businesses and consumers.

Threat actors continue to evolve with new players and threats emerging globally, in addition to novel ways of leveraging or executing older tactics and approaches.

Security experts should assume that no organisation or individual is truly safe from a cyberthreat and that there is an increasing urgency to monitor and research threats resurging and evolving at a rapid pace and scale.

According to Carlo Bolzonello, country lead for Trellix South Africa, “various countries around the world are looking to decouple from Western financial markets through moves like the expansion of the BRICS bloc and the de-dollarisation of their financial markets.

“As a result, Africa will play a more important role in resource-based economies and nation-states. Both allies and oppositions are increasingly interested in gaining leverage here through any data they can extract.”

Ransomware remains an ever-present plague for many organisations worldwide as these families increase in scale and sophistication – including coordinating and partnering with other threat actors through underground forums.

Socially engineered ploys to trick and deceive individuals into compromising their devices or personal information are becoming more cunning and targeted and, simultaneously, harder for both victims and security tools to catch and identify.

“The cyber landscape today is more complex than ever before,” says John Fokker, head of Threat Intelligence at Trellix Advanced Research Centre. “Cybercriminals from ransomware families to nation-state actors are getting smarter, quicker, and more coordinated in retooling their tactics to follow new schemes – and we don’t anticipate that changing in 2024.

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“To break away from escalating attacks and start outsmarting and outmanoeuvring threat actors, all industries need to embrace a cyberstrategy that is constantly vigilant, actionably comprehensible, and adaptable to new threats. That is how we can ensure a one-step lead over cybercriminals in the coming year.”

READ ALSO:  Political Parties Drag DSIEC To Court, Seeks Stay Of Action On Delta LG Polls

Cybersecurity experts and threat researchers from the Trellix Advanced Research Centre team have compiled their predictions for trends, tactics, and threats that organisations should keep top of mind as we approach 2024:

Recent advancements in AI have given rise to LLMs capable of generating human-like text. While LLMs exhibit remarkable technological potential for positive applications, their dual-use nature also makes them vulnerable to malicious exploitation. One significant security concern associated with LLMs lies in their potential misuse by cybercriminals for large-scale attacks.

Leading LLMs like GPT-4, Claude, and PaLM2 have achieved unparalleled capabilities in generating coherent text, answering intricate queries, problem-solving, coding, and numerous other natural language tasks. The availability and ease of use of these advanced LLMs have opened a new era for cybercriminals.

Unlike earlier, less sophisticated AI systems, today’s LLMs offer a potent and cost-effective tool for hackers, eliminating the need for extensive expertise, time, and resources. And this value has not been lost on the cybercriminal underground.

Setting up the infrastructure for large-scale phishing campaigns has become cheaper and more accessible – even for individuals with limited technical skills. Tools like FraudGPT and WormGPT are already prominent in cybercriminal networks. Popular darknet forums today often serve as platforms for the coordinated development of phishing emails, counterfeit webpages, as well as the creation of malware and vulnerabilities designed to evade detection to thousands of users already.

These LLM applications can assist in mitigating considerable challenges encountered by cybercriminals – and we expect the development and malicious usage of these tools to accelerate in 2024.

The internet is now filled with tools that use AI to make people’s lives easier – from creating presentations, generating voice notes, writing argumentative papers, and much more.

Many best-known tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or Perplexity AI come with security mechanisms to prevent them from writing malicious code. This is not the case for all AI tools available in the market, however, especially the ones being developed on the dark web.

It is only a matter of time until cybercriminals have access to an unrestricted generative AI, which can write malicious codes, create deepfake videos, and assist with social engineering schemes and more.

READ ALSO:  Several Injured In Church Suicide Bombing In Indonesia

This will make it easier than ever for unskilled actors to execute sophisticated attacks at scale. Furthermore, widespread leveraging of such tools to exploit vulnerabilities will make root cause analysis of attacks more challenging for defenders. We consider this to be an area to monitor carefully in 2024.

The rise of scams involving AI-generated voices are a concerning trend that is set to grow in the coming year, posing significant risks to individuals and organisations.

These scams often involve social engineering tactics where scammers use psychological manipulation techniques to deceive individuals into taking specific actions such as disclosing personal information or executing financial transactions. AI-generated voices play a crucial role in this as they can instill trust and urgency in victims making them more susceptible to manipulation.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have greatly improved the quality of AI-generated voices. They can now closely mimic human speech patterns and nuances making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between real and fake voices.

Furthermore, the accessibility and affordability of AI voice generation tools have democratised their use. Even individuals without technical expertise can easily employ these tools to create convincing artificial voices, empowering scammers.

Detecting AI-generated voices in realtime is a significant challenge, particularly for individuals who are not familiar with the technology. The increasing authenticity of AI voices makes it difficult for victims to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent communications.

Additionally, these scams are not limited by language barriers allowing scammers to target victims across diverse geographic regions and linguistic backgrounds.

Phishing and vishing attacks are both on the rise. It’s only a logical next step that as the technology for AI-generated voices improves, threat actors will leverage these applications with victims on live phone calls – impersonating legitimate entities to amplify the effectiveness of their scams.

As ransomware groups are primarily financially driven, it’s unsurprising to see them find new ways to extort their victims for more money and pressure them to pay the ransom.

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It would not be surprising for the healthcare, social media, education, and SaaS industries to come further under fire in 2024 from these groups.

Cyberattacks, such as spear phishing and sophisticated impersonation, continue to use email as the main entry point because it can be highly customised and focuses on increased levels of successful exploitation.

The rise of QR code-based phishing campaigns represents an alarming trend. As our daily lives become increasingly reliant on digital interactions attackers are adapting their tactics to exploit new vulnerabilities. QR codes, originally designed for their convenience and efficiency, have become an enticing tool for cybercriminals to use as an attack vector.

One of the primary reasons behind the expected increase in QR code-focused phishing campaigns is their inherent trustworthiness. QR codes became essential in various aspects of daily life during the Covid-19 pandemic – from contactless payments to restaurant menus.

As a result, people have grown accustomed to scanning QR codes without much thought assuming they are safe. This sense of trust can be exploited by cybercriminals who embed malicious links or redirect victims to fake websites. We expect that QR codes will also be used to distribute widely recognised malware families.

The ease of QR code creation and distribution has lowered the barrier for entry into the world of phishing and malware distribution. Anyone can generate a QR code and embed malicious links within, making it a cost-effective and accessible method for cybercriminals to target victims.

Traditional email products often fail to detect these attacks which makes them an attractive option for cybercriminals today. As attackers continue to refine their tactics and craft convincing phishing lures, the potential for success in these campaigns will be on the rise.

To combat the growing threat of QR code-focused phishing, users must exercise caution when scanning codes – especially from unknown or suspicious sources.

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Reported uses include entertainment and media production, synthetic news anchors, voice assistants, chatbots, navigation systems, and accessibility support for people with severe speech limitations.

Misuses documented in the reporting include scams such as vishing and fake kidnapping calls, impersonation, social engineering, and use in misinformation campaigns.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

News reporting gives concrete examples such as a fake dental-plan advertisement created with AI that used Tom Hanks's likeness and a viral deepfake video involving actress Rashmika Mandanna that led to calls for legal action.

Research shows humans have difficulty reliably detecting synthetic speech; one University College London study reported about 73 percent accuracy in identifying deepfake speech.

What has the US Federal Trade Commission warned about the use of voice cloning tools?

Difficult to distinguish from human voice

Communication scholars warn that AI systems now sound so real that distinguishing human from machine in conversation is becoming impossible, increasing risks of manipulation and deception at scale.

Title:

Content: What are the dangers of AI tools like ChatGPT?

(Credit: Getty Images)

We need to think about the human aspect of using AI in our everyday lives and how it will influence the ways in which we perceive and interact with one another, says communication scholar Jeff Hancock.

Since its public launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has captured the world’s attention, showing millions of users around the globe the extraordinary potential of artificial intelligence as it churns out human-sounding answers to requests ranging from the practical to the surreal.

It has drafted cover letters, composed lines of poetry, pretended to be William Shakespeare, crafted messages for dating app users to woo matches, and even written news articles, all with varying results.

Emerging out of these promising applications are ethical dilemmas as well. In a world increasingly dominated by AI-powered tools that can mimic human natural language abilities, what does it mean to be truthful and authentic?

Hancock has been tackling this issue and the impact of AI on interpersonal relationships in his research.

Hancock argues that the Turing test era is over: Bots now sound so real that it has become impossible for people to distinguish between humans and machines in conversations, which poses huge risks for manipulation and deception at mass scale. How then can these tools be used for good and not harm is a question that has Hancock and others worried.

While he sees the potential of AI to help how people do their work more effectively, Hancock sees pitfalls as well. Ultimately, he says, our challenge will be to develop AI that supports human goals and to educate people how best to use these new technologies in effective and ethical ways.

For several years now, Hancock has been examining how AI-mediated communication is transforming—and potentially, undermining—interpersonal relationships.

Here, he explains some of the challenges tools like ChatGPT pose and how they will shape our lives going forward:

Q

How do you see AI-mediated tools like ChatGPT fitting into people’s lives?

A

Much like the calculator didn’t replace the need to take math or for people to work the till or to be accountants, I think we will find ways of using AI-mediated communication as a tool. I think the more we think of it as an assistant or a tool that is incredibly powerful, the more we can envision how it will be useful. But it’s important to note that these systems are not ready to plug and play right off the shelf. They’re not there yet, and neither are we humans.

ChatGPT is being used by millions of people, many of whom don’t have any training or education about when it is ethical to use these systems or how to ensure that they are not causing harm.

Technically, systems like ChatGPT are genuinely far better than things that we’ve had in the past, but there are still a lot of issues. They do not currently provide accurate information at very high rates. The best ones produce useful information that’s accurate 50% or 70% of the time, though that will likely change with new versions like the imminent GPT4. They can also produce falsehoods or make stuff up—what we call “hallucinating.” It can take a lot of work to actually get them to produce something good. Prompts are difficult and produce really different responses.

Q

Are there any areas in particular where you see an opportunity for ChatGPT to help people be better at their job or do it more effectively?

A

I think there’s a whole new world of communication that this will usher in. It really feels like an inflection point. For example, there is a tremendous amount of potential in the initial levels of therapy and coaching. Say you are procrastinating at work, or you need help negotiating, or you are having some anxiety in your job. Meeting with an actual counselor or coach is difficult and can be expensive. These systems offer ways of getting access to that kind of help, at least at the initial stages of working on a problem. I think the best combination will be when ChatGPT can support an actual coach, who can then help more people more effectively.

ChatGPT could be useful at doing some of the prep work that coaches do as they try to understand their clients’ needs. Sometimes these are standard questions that a system like ChatGPT could be trained to ask the client and then synthesize for the coach. This could potentially free the coach up to engage more deeply with that client or to help more clients.

Of course, we still don’t know how people will react to having bots involved in these kinds of conversations. Some work we did a few years ago showed that people’s emotional, relational, and psychological outcomes from conversations with bots could be similar to those with a human. There is potential there, but care will certainly be needed in introducing these kinds of systems into communication like this.

Q

One area you study is trust and deception. How do you see AI affecting the way people trust one another?

A

I think if the machine is helping you be you, then I think you can be authentic. AI systems can be optimized for a whole host of things and some of those can be interpersonal. You can say, “I want an online dating description and I want to come across as very funny, warm, and open.” I just did an exercise in class, getting the students to use ChatGPT to create an online dating profile, and was shocked when all the students says that ChatGPT’s description was an accurate representation of themselves! They also agreed that they would modify it a little, but that it was surprisingly good. That could really help a person, especially for people who experience communication anxiety or aren’t very good at expressing themselves.

But for the people who are trying to use those descriptions as signals of what a person is like, our usual process of impression formation breaks down because it wasn’t you who came across as very funny, warm, and open—it was a machine doing that for you. We will have a lot of responsibility about how we go about using these tools. I think it’s really about how we as humans choose to use it.

Q

Can we trust these systems?

A

There are a lot of technical questions, like how the AI was developed. A widespread concern is that these systems are relying on biased data for training. But there are also deeper philosophical questions around consciousness and intention. What does it mean for a machine to be deceptive? It can lie about who it is and talk about a lived experience it did not have, which is deceptive. But most definitions of deception include an intent to mislead someone. If the system doesn’t have that intent, is it deceptive? Does it come back to the person that was asking the questions or getting the system to be deceptive? I don’t know. There are more questions than answers at this point.

Q

You also study disinformation. What worries you about how AI can be used for nefarious purposes?

A

I also want to recognize that there are real dangers for misuse here. Renée DiResta, my colleague and collaborator in the Stanford Internet Observatory, has a report out that lays out some of the main ways that these systems can be a threat around misinformation, and possible solutions. As Renée and the report note, once bad actors are able to use language models to run influence campaigns, they will be able to generate massive amounts of content quite cheaply, and potentially develop novel tactics for large-scale persuasion. It has the potential to transform and exacerbate the problem of misinformation, and so we need to start working on solutions now.

Q

What can be done to authenticate communication?

A

In the last year or so there have been a number of papers showing that these large language models and chatbots can no longer be differentiated from their human counterparts.

So how to authenticate communication is a big question. To come across as authentic, you could say, “This was written or partly written by AI.” If you do that, you’re being honest, but research shows that people could perceive you as less sincere—there is a paper that came out that found if you apologize and indicate that you used AI to help you write your apology, people view it as less sincere. In one of our papers, we showed that if you apply for a job and say you used AI to help write it, people will perceive you as less competent. There are costs if you disclose you used AI, but if you don’t disclose it, are you coming across as inauthentic? These questions around authenticity, deception, and trust are going to be incredibly important, and we need a lot more research to help us understand how AI will influence how we interact with other humans.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What has the US Federal Trade Commission warned about the use of voice cloning tools?

Difficult to distinguish from human voice

Cybersecurity analysts note that advanced language models and specialized tools (for example FraudGPT and WormGPT) lower the barrier for criminals to generate phishing, malware, and voice-based social engineering at scale.

Regulatory and institutional responses described in the material include FTC warnings about AI-enabled scams, public calls for legal and regulatory frameworks, and some universities restricting or prohibiting student use of AI tools.

Title:

Content:   • YOMIURI EDITORIAL
  • Education and AI

Don’t Let Use Hinder Development of Students’ Thinking Abilities

The emergence of highly capable artificial intelligence is shaking the field of education. The use of AI to replace human thinking is extremely problematic. Rules must be established urgently.

ChatGPT, a conversational AI model developed by a U.S. start-up, is able to produce highly accurate text by learning the relationships between words and other factors in text.

Since its release last November, the number of users has increased rapidly and is said to already exceed 100 million worldwide. Reports and papers can also be created instantly using this tool.

At the current stage, there is a risk of copyright infringement or the possibility of lies being included in the generated text, as well as personal or confidential information being exposed from the content of questions given to the AI.

However, in a survey conducted by the student newspaper of Stanford University in the United States, 17% of students reportedly said that they have used ChatGPT for examinations and homework. The situation must be similar in Japan. It is only natural that opinions have surfaced calling the situation a “crisis in education.”

Regarding students’ writing of reports and papers, the University of Tokyo, Sophia University and other universities have begun to restrict or prohibit the use of AI. Some universities have warned students about the use of AI at their entrance ceremonies.

New curriculum guidelines that emphasize the development of thinking and expressive abilities began to be rolled out at elementary, junior high and high schools from the 2020 academic year onward. In this regard, if AI is used freely by children, writing instruction and other lessons to this end will no longer be meaningful.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will prepare guidelines about the use of AI in schools and present points to keep in mind. This is a serious issue that affects the purpose and significance of education. The education ministry must hasten the creation of effective guidelines.

It is said to be difficult for teachers to detect whether students had an AI write a text for them. Some students have even posted on the internet that they had an AI write their self-introductions to be submitted to companies.

It may be necessary to consider measures such as having students gather at the venues for university examinations and corporate recruiting activities and use handwriting or oral presentations.

Advancement of technology itself is desirable. Depending on how it is used, it may lead to the creation of new value. However, it is difficult to say that it is appropriate to be so eager to use technology without sufficient discussion.

Thinking is essential for making judgments and expressing oneself. It is not right to entrust AI to do the work of “thinking,” which is the very essence of being human, just because it is troublesome to do so.

As Blaise Pascal said, “Man is but a reed … but he is a thinking reed.” Human dignity lies in thinking. This fact must not be forgotten.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 25, 2023)

Ethical challenges identified include deception, erosion of authenticity and trust, potential emotional and psychological harm, and evidence that disclosure of AI assistance can make communications be perceived as less sincere or less competent.

Suggested mitigations across reports include practical verification measures such as safe words or codes, tightening privacy settings to limit available source audio, public education and training, continued detection research, and developing legal guidelines.

Voice cloning is increasingly realistic and accessible, and while it offers legitimate uses for media and accessibility, it also creates clear ethical, legal, and security risks that demand verification practices, user training, detection work, and regulation.