MELBOURNE, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Monash University researchers, in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), are developing a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool to fight malicious deepfake images.
The new disruption tool, among its broad applications, can slow down and stop criminals producing AI-generated child abuse material, deepfake images and videos, etc., according to a Monash University statement released Monday.
Known as "data poisoning," it involves the subtle alteration of data to make it significantly more difficult to produce, manipulate, and misuse images or videos using AI programs, according to the AI for Law Enforcement and Community Safety (AiLECS) Lab, a collaboration between the AFP and Monash University.
AI and machine learning tools rely on large online datasets. Poisoning this data causes them to generate inaccurate, skewed or corrupted results, making it easier to identify doctored images or videos created by criminals, which could also aid investigators by cutting down the volume of fake material to wade through, researchers said.
The AI-disrupter, called "Silverer," in its prototype stage, is to develop and continue to enhance technology that will be easy-to-use for ordinary Australians who want to protect their data on social media, they said.
"Before a person uploads images on social media or the internet, they can modify them using Silverer. This will alter the pixels to trick AI models and the resulting generations will be very low-quality, covered in blurry patterns, or completely unrecognizable," said AiLECS researcher and project lead, Monash PhD candidate Elizabeth Perry.
The AFP has reported a rise in AI-generated child abuse material, which criminals can easily create and distribute using open-source technology with very low barriers to access, according to digital forensics expert and AiLECS Co-Director Campbell Wilson. ■
