Artificial intelligence has become one of the most disruptive forms of technology since the beginning of the 21st century. One poll found that 55% of Americans believe that they use AI on a regular basis. Businesses and consumers around the world are expected to spend over $244 billion on AI this year.
This technology has a ton of huge benefits. However, it has also created a number of challenges as well. One of the biggest concerns is that artificial intelligence is making it a lot easier for criminals to commit fraud. Unscrupulous marketers and propagandists are also using AI to create fake content as well.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to fight against the growing threats that AI poses. One of the best things companies can do is invest in AI detection software, which can detect content created by ChatGPT and Gemini.
AI Has Emboldened Criminals in the 21st Century
Criminals have evolved significantly over the last few decades. They used to rob banks or swindle people face to face, like Frank Abagnale and Butch Cassidy.
New technology has made it harder than ever for old school criminals to get away with these types of crimes. However, it has also created tremendous opportunities for them to take advantage of people in new ways. Therefore, a growing number of criminals are engaging in online activities. Shawn wrote a great post on the importance of protecting against hackers.
Artificial intelligence has made these crimes more sinister. One of the biggest examples is with phishing attacks.
Phishing is a crime that involves using social engineering strategies to dupe people into handing over sensitive information. This enables hackers to take over their targets’ financial accounts or steal valuable information that can be sold on the dark web.
Around 40% of phishing attacks are committed with AI these days. Unfortunately, AI has made phishing attacks more effective than ever. One study found that 60% of people who were targeted with AI-driven phishing attacks fell victim to the scam.
Another way that bad actors use AI is by creating fake content. They can use fake reviews to trick people into purchasing bogus products or download malware.
They can also use fake content developed with AI to manipulate people into taking certain actions that further their own goals, such as harassing competitors or influencing the outcome of an election.
AI Detection is a Vital Line of Defense Against Scammers and Hackers
These issues underscore the importance of identifying content developed with AI. One of the best ways to do so is by using AI detection software.
What is AI Detection Software?
An AI detector is a program that is designed to tell whether content was developed with AI or by a person. This software is trained on massive data sets of both AI and human-generated content.
As it is trained on more content, it becomes better at telling the difference between content made with AI and that made by humans.
Here are some of the things that AI detectors look for when deciding if content is AI-generated or not:
- Perplexity. AI detectors look for content that is low on perplexity. They have learned that content that is developed with AI follows predictable patterns. If the content doesn’t adhere to those patterns, then it has a high level of perplexity. This means that it is less likely to be developed by AI.
- Burstiness. AI detectors also look at burstiness. This is a measure of how much content varies throughout the document. AI detectors tend to create content with similar sentence lengths and paragraph structures. Humans tend to create content with sentences that vary in length. Therefore, content that varies in structure is less likely to be seen as AI-generated.
- Word choice. AI detectors have also learned that content made by AI is to use the same words frequently. They are more likely to flag content as being AI-generated if these words are used repetitively.
AI detectors have become surprisingly effective at telling whether content is AI generated.
How Do AI Detectors Help Protect Against Scammers and Hackers
AI detectors may not seem as vital to protect against cybercrime as malware detection technology. However, they can fill a huge void by helping detect content that is AI-generated.
This can be important in contexts where it doesn’t make sense for people to use AI-generated content, such as product reviews or emails. This can help people protect against these crimes by identifying potentially malicious content.
Criminals are becoming more brazen than ever and AI is making their jobs easier. Everybody needs to do everything possible to guard against these types of attacks and scams. Therefore, AI detection software is going to be crucial in the years to come.
