(WFXR) — As artificial intelligence evolves, it becomes easier to access and more convincing.
Professor Cayce Myers is a professor of communications at Virginia Tech, who’s been digging into AI.
“As that barrier has lowered, we’re going to see a proliferation of content that may be deceptive and may be disinformation,” said Myers.
That’s because anyone can hop online and use AI nowadays to write or create an image.
“As we’re going to go into an election in 2024, I think we’re going to see more disinformation on a variety of topics. Disinformation is nothing new, what is new is the technology that’s able to facilitate that with greater ease,” he said.
Some companies and individuals are working to develop software that can identify AI, however for now, Myers said most AI images are at least obvious to the human eye. Just ask AI to create anything human, and their features will look far from realistic.
Still, AI-generated disinformation is having real impacts. On May 22, an image spread showing an explosion near the Pentagon. According to Insider, within four minutes, stocks fell .26%. Arlington Fire Department quickly posted to Twitter, debunking the photo.
Myers said users have to fact-check information they see online. As AI grows, so will the responsibility of individuals to make sure what they’re seeing is from a verifiable source the user knows and trusts.
