Oct. 22: AI voice clone
This is a shortened version of Get Smart About News, a free weekly newsletter that explores trends and issues in misinformation, social media, artificial intelligence and journalism. Subscribe HERE.
Top story of the week
Can you detect an AI voice clone?
As artificial intelligence technology advances, distinguishing between authentic voice recordings and AI-generated audio has become more challenging — and experts fear audio fakes could influence voters in the 2024 presidential election. This Washington Post story includes side-by-side audio clips that sound like former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — but only one is real. While some experts advise listening for parts of natural speech that are difficult for AI to mimic — such as breathing, stuttering and emphasizing certain words — others admit that even they have trouble telling the difference sometimes.
Engage:
Play the audio clips in The Washington Post article for the young people in your life to see if they can confidently tell which is authentic (without just guessing). Then discuss the implications of this technology. How could it be used to mislead voters? How might other malicious actors online use this technology? What can people do to protect themselves from being duped by fabricated audio? ?
? Tool for the talk:
Related:
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RumorGuard post of the week
NLP created RumorGuard to fact-check viral rumors and help you build news literacy skills. Sign up to push back against misinformation HERE.
? YES: The?Oregon Voters’ Guide for the 2024 election does not feature former President Donald Trump.
? NO: The decision to leave Trump off was?not made by state officials.
? YES: It was the Trump campaign’s choice?not to participate in the pamphlet.?
? YES: Trump?will appear on Oregon’s ballot
? NewsLit Takeaway
Presenting seemingly suspicious content with a leading question that suggests something is amiss is a common disinformation tactic. While posts like this typically contain some accurate information, they are frequently shared in a misleading or incomplete context. In this case, the images from Oregon’s voter pamphlet are real, but it was the Trump campaign’s decision to opt out of it and not a deliberate omission by state officials.
One last thing...
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