Are You Sure That Video Is Real? How To Spot Deepfakes With AI Tools
In today’s world, we see and share videos and pictures all the time. But not everything we see is real. A new kind of fake, called a deepfake, is becoming more common. These are fake videos or images created by powerful computers. They can make it look like someone said or did something they never did. This is a serious problem because these fakes can be used to spread lies, hurt someone’s reputation, or even trick people into sending money. Because of this, many people are worried. In fact, studies show that about 85% of people in America are concerned about fake audio and videos.
The technology to make these fakes is getting better very quickly. Many computer science professors now say that deepfake technology is quite advanced. This makes it harder for our eyes to tell the difference between what is real and what is not. As the fakes get better, we need better tools to find them. The good news is that smart people are creating tools to fight back. This has led to a growing interest in “deepfake detection,” with searches for this term growing by over 400% in the last couple of years.
What Is Sentinel AI?
Sentinel AI is one of the new tools designed to be a truth detector for the digital world. Think of it as a detective that looks at pictures and videos to see if they have been manipulated. It was started in 2019 by a team of experts with serious backgrounds in security. The founders used to work for big organizations like NATO and the U.K. Royal Navy, where they specialized in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Their experience in protecting important information gave them the right skills to build a tool to protect people from digital fakes. The company is based in Estonia and has already raised $1.35 million to help grow its technology.
How Sentinel AI Spots the Fakes
Using Sentinel AI is a straightforward process. You do not need to be a tech expert to use it. The main idea is to give the tool a file you are unsure about and let it do the hard work.
Here is how it works, step by step:
- Upload the File: You can go to the Sentinel AI website and upload an image or video directly from your computer. For businesses or developers who want to check many files at once, there is also an API, which is a way for different computer programs to talk to each other.
- AI Analysis: Once the file is uploaded, Sentinel’s powerful AI models get to work. These models are trained to look for tiny mistakes and unnatural patterns that humans usually miss. A computer making a fake video does not always get everything perfect.
- Finding the Clues: The AI looks for specific red flags that signal a fake. These include:
- Synthesized Voices: A fake voice made by a computer might sound a little flat or have strange pauses. Sentinel’s AI can hear these small differences.
- Abnormal Facial Expressions: When people talk, their faces move in very specific ways. A deepfake might show a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes or an expression that doesn’t match the words being said.
- Non-Human Blinking: Real people blink without thinking about it. Sometimes, the AI that creates deepfakes forgets to make the person blink enough, or makes them blink in a weird way. This is a big clue.
- See the Results: After the analysis is finished, you don’t just get a “real” or “fake” answer. Instead, Sentinel AI gives you a visual report. It highlights the exact parts of the video or image that look suspicious. This helps you see for yourself where the potential manipulation happened.
The Fight Against Fakes Is a Team Effort
Sentinel AI is a key player in a much larger trend called Anti-Deepfake Technology. Many companies and researchers are working on this problem because it is so important. While these tools are getting better every day, it is important to know that no system is perfect. Some of the best anti-deepfake systems claim they are up to 97% accurate, but that still means some fakes might slip through, and some real videos might get flagged by mistake. The technology on both sides—creating fakes and detecting them—is in a constant race.
Several other startups are also making tools to help identify fake content. Each has a slightly different focus.
- Reality Defender: This tool looks at more than just videos. It can analyze audio files, text, and images. After checking a file, it gives a score that shows how much it thinks the file was manipulated.
- WeVerify: This is a tool designed especially for journalists and researchers. It comes as a plugin for the Chrome web browser, making it easy to check videos and images found online while they work.
- Deepware: This company focuses specifically on one of the most common types of deepfakes: those that involve changing someone’s face. It is built to detect AI-generated face swaps and manipulations.
Why This Matters for You
The rise of deepfakes affects everyone, not just famous people or politicians. Fake videos can be used in scams to trick you or your family. They can be used to create false evidence in a dispute or to bully someone online. This is why having tools like Sentinel AI is becoming a necessity for many different groups.
- For Journalists and News Organizations: Trust is everything. Before publishing a video, they need to be sure it is real. Tools like Sentinel AI help them verify their sources and avoid spreading misinformation.
- For Businesses: Companies can be attacked with deepfakes. A fake video of a CEO saying something terrible could crash a company’s stock price. Businesses can use these tools to monitor for fakes and protect their reputation.
- For Everyone: As we spend more of our lives online, we all need to become more careful consumers of information. Knowing that deepfake detection tools exist is the first step. It reminds us to think twice before believing everything we see.
Staying safe online requires a new way of thinking. Be skeptical of videos that seem designed to make you very angry or emotional. Look for information from trusted sources. And as technology continues to evolve, tools like Sentinel AI will become even more important in helping us separate fact from fiction in the digital world.