New PSA Uses AI Fakery To Warn About AI Fakery
For a greatest-hits parade of viral AI images, just watch a new public service announcement designed to help people spot AI fakery. You'll get such classics as a skydiving baby, the late Pope Francis wearing a designer puffer coat, a boat crew not actually rescuing a polar bear cub and, of course, Will Smith slurping spaghetti. That meme from a couple of years back became an early benchmark of just how far AI images had to go to appear convincing.
A lot has changed since then, with AI tools for generating images and videos progressing toward realism at an astounding rate. The advancements open up countless creative possibilities, but with them comes a higher risk that people will confuse fake for real, sometimes with serious consequences.
'At stake is trust in substantiated information and the health of democracy,' said Betsy Morais, acting editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, the magazine for journalists published by Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. That's what prompted CJR to launch PSAi, a campaign aimed at helping the public distinguish real from AI-generated.
'For more than a century, photography has been one of the greatest tools journalists have had to establish truth and trust,' reads a description of the campaign. 'But AI-generated images are making it increasingly hard to distinguish real from fake media.'
As part of PSAi, CJR partnered with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day New York to produce a short, snappy music video that serves as a crash course in AI-spotting basics. The video pairs some of the best-known AI-generated images out there with a song in the style of '90s rap delivering tips that might seem obvious to those attuned to AI oddities, but aren't to the scores who get fooled.
'Extra fingers are a telltale sign, so is skin with the perfect shine,' the lyrics go. 'Flawless hair that's smooth and clean, warped faces in the back of the scene.'
To make the video, the TBWA\Chiat\Day team scoured social media platforms to collect AI-generated images ranging from the emotionally charged — a terrified little girl paddling through the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina holding her dog — to the downright bizarre (I'm looking at you 'Shrimp Jesus'). The images were chosen not only because they were 'liked' and shared widely, but because they misled people into believing they were legitimate.
The team animated the images using Runway's AI video generation and alteration tools, specifically its Act-One feature, which makes it possible to animate facial expressions and sync mouth movements with speech. In the case of the PSAi video, image subjects appear to be lip-synching the rap lyrics. 'That's the way you spot AI,' Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to sing as he peeps into a window from outside (remember that one?).
An iProov study earlier this year revealed that many people can't spot a deepfake, with 20% of consumers polled saying they don't even know what one is. Dustin Tomes, chief creative officer of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, stressed that PSAi isn't intended as an anti-AI statement, but an awareness-building toolkit.
'The PSAi is designed to give people simple, effective tools to spot the difference, without requiring too much effort,' Tomes said in a statement. 'This isn't a silver bullet, but by delivering this education in a memorable way, we hope more people will engage and apply these lessons. After all, fake news doesn't spread itself.'
The video certainly is attention-grabbing, even without an appearance by the internet's favorite viral 'emotional support kangaroo.'
The creative team behind PSAi scoured social media for AI-generated images that were liked and ... More shared widely, like this one of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AT&T Shares Have Sunk Despite a Subscriber Surge. Time to Buy the Dip?
Key Points AT&T continues to see strong subscriber additions. However, investors were disappointed that the company did not raise guidance. 10 stocks we like better than AT&T › AT&T (NYSE: T) has quietly been a great-performing stock over the past couple of years, but it has pulled back after the company failed to raise its guidance when it reported its second quarter results. Investors were expecting a hike after rival Verizon Communications did so a couple of days earlier. Let's look at AT&T's results to see if the pullback is a buying opportunity. Strong subscriber growth When it comes to wireless subscriber growth, AT&T has taken advantage of a Verizon price hike earlier this year to gain customers. In the second quarter, it added 479,000 retail postpaid subscribers, including 401,000 retail postpaid phone additions. It did lose 34,000 prepaid subscribers, but that is generally viewed as a less important segment than subscribers who get a monthly bill. Overall mobility-segment revenue increased 6.7% to $21.8 billion. Mobility service revenue rose 3.5% to $16.9 billion, while equipment sales surged 18.8% to $5 billion. Postpaid phone average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) edged up 1.1% to $57.04. Turning to broadband, AT&T added 243,000 fiber subscribers and 203,000 internet air subscribers. The company lost 93,000 non-fiber subscribers as they continued to switch to faster options. Broadband ARPU climbed by 7.5% to $71.16, while fiber ARPU rose by 6.2% to $73.26. Total consumer broadband revenue was up 5.8% to $3.5 billion. Fiber will be a big focus for the company, with it looking to ramp up its investment to a pace of 4 million new locations per year. It just surpassed 30 million fiber locations and is looking to double that number by 2030, including through assets it has agreed to acquire, its Gigapower joint venture with BlackRock, and agreements it has with other commercial open-access providers. The investment in fiber will be helped by new tax provisions in the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" that allow some assets to immediately be fully depreciated in the year they go into use. On the downside, AT&T's business wireline segment saw a 9.3% decrease in revenue to $4.3 billion. The segment flipped from an operating profit of $102 million in the second quarter of last year to a loss of $201 million this year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the segment fell 11.3% to $1.3 billion. Total revenue rose by 3.5% to $30.8 billion, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped by 5.8% to $0.54. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations for adjusted EPS of $0.52 on revenue of $30.8 billion. AT&T generated $9.8 billion in operating cash flow, and free cash flow of $4.4 billion. It paid out just over $2 billion in dividends, good for a coverage ratio of 2.2 times. The company has held its quarterly dividend of $0.28 steady since May 2022, and the stock currently has about a 4% forward dividend yield. Looking ahead, the company largely kept its guidance intact, which was disappointing after Verizon raised its full-year EPS outlook. AT&T is looking for its mobility service revenue to grow by 3% or better, with adjusted EPS of between $1.97 to $2.07, which would be down from the $2.26 it produced in 2024. It forecast free cash flow to be in the low to mid $16 billion range. Metric Prior Guidance New Guidance Mobility service revenue growth The higher end of 2% to 3% 3% or better Adjusted EPS $1.97 to $2.07 $1.97 to $2.07 Adjusted EBITDA 3% or better 3% or better Free cash flow $16 billion-plus In the low to mid $16 billion range Source: AT&T Further out, AT&T expects to spend between $23 billion to $24 billion a year on capital expenditures (capex) in both 2026 and 2027. It projects that its free cash flow will be more than $18 billion in 2026 and more than $19 billion in 2027. Should investors buy the dip? AT&T has been taking it to Verizon in subscriber additions, offering more-aggressive deals on smartphones and keeping prices lower than its rivals, while committing to strong network reliability. Its overall second-quarter results were solid; however, investors were clearly looking for the company to raise EPS guidance after Verizon increased its forecast and with the tax benefits it will see from the One Big, Beautiful Bill. But these tax benefits will eventually hit the bottom line, and the company is looking to take advantage of the bill to more aggressively grow its fiber network. That's a smart move given that Verizon is set to greatly expand its fiber network when it completes its acquisition of Frontier Communications next year. Also, 2026 could be the year of the bundle for wireless companies, and AT&T is looking to ramp up its fiber network to compete against what should become a stronger Verizon. Even with the stock's pullback, AT&T still trades at a large premium to Verizon. It has a forward price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) of about 13.5 based on 2025 earnings estimates, versus a forward P/E of 9 for Verizon. Until recently, Verizon historically had the higher multiple. Given the valuation gap, its higher yield (about 6%), and Verizon's impending Frontier acquisition, I prefer it over AT&T. Nonetheless, I think both can be strong long-term investments, and both should benefit from the One Big, Beautiful Bill. Should you invest $1,000 in AT&T right now? Before you buy stock in AT&T, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and AT&T wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. AT&T Shares Have Sunk Despite a Subscriber Surge. Time to Buy the Dip? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
You Can Try Google's New 'Vibe Coding' App For Free Right Now
Google has been working to improve its AI coding capabilities alongside other AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Many believe that AI can improve coding workflows, and it has proven time and time again that it can make the job more efficient and easier. Some have even taken to 'vibe coding,' which is the act of basically letting AI do all of the work and then just ensuring it works before you implement it. Vibe coding, many argue, is the lazy way out. Others have seen it as a way to open up the world of coding to people who might otherwise struggle to put out the code they're trying to make. And Google has been leaning into this a bit already, with the debut of Jules, an AI coding agent, earlier this year. But now Google is looking to go a step further. Instead of just helping you improve on your own code, as Jules is designed to do, a new agent called Opal will help you dive deep into vibe coding. And if you're interested in trying it, then you can sign up for Google Labs and try out Opal for yourself today for free. An AI Agent Designed To Build Apps With Natural Language Google says that Opal is designed to build, edit, and share mini-AP apps using natural language. This means you should be able to tell the AI exactly what you want -- by saying something like "make an app to order breakfast" -- and then it will spit out a project that you can tweak and change fairly effortlessly. Opal also makes it easy to share your apps, allowing you to package them and show them off with minimal effort. Of course, vibe coding is a novel idea that could open the door for new coding opportunities. But it could also turn out really poorly if you don't know what you're doing. While vibe coding has garnered a lot of praise and interest, it also has its risks. Recently, a venture capitalist shared details about an ongoing project he'd been working on using Replit, an AI designed to help with vibe coding. Despite putting hours of work into the project, the AI deleted his entire database simply because it "panicked." Despite these downsides, it's hard to argue with how easy vibe coding makes projects, and having more accessible apps like Opal will only lead to more improvements across the board. You just have to decide if the ease of use is worth it, or if you're one of the many who believe innovations like this could make it easier for AI to overtake humanity. Read the original article on BGR.
Gizmodo
29 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
The Directors of ‘Project Hail Mary' Explain Why the Movie Is a PC, Not a Mac
Making movies is all about compromises. This actor is unavailable, so you cast someone else. That location is too expensive, so let's build a set. This shot is impossible, so let's think of something better. At every step, the big, huge mechanism of filmmaking is always a work in progress. But on Project Hail Mary, directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord tried to embrace a new philosophy. 'What's great about this movie is there are so many things that make it harder to make,' Miller said in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con. 'All of the zero G, all of the centrifugal gravity, the characters have to have a wall between them because their atmospheres are different. Everything that a regular movie would be like, 'Oh, we can change that,' we were like, 'Anything that makes it harder we're not going to change.' We're going to stay true to it, and then that difficulty is what makes it interesting and makes it special.' His co-director, Phil Lord, put it another way. 'We kept saying, with respect, this movie is not a Mac, it's a PC,' he said, to much laughter. 'The movie is a machine, the ship is a machine; it can be beautiful, it just can't be pretty.' It is true that almost everything about Project Hail Mary makes it seem incredibly difficult to make. Most of the movie is set on a spaceship. That spaceship meets an alien race represented by a creature made out of stone that doesn't speak English. Changing the setting or the character could've still conveyed the overall idea of the story, but it wouldn't be the story author Andy Weir wrote in his novel. So everything had to be right. So how did Lord and Miller bring that rock creature, nicknamed Rocky, to life? 'We called our friend Neil Scanlan at the Lucasfilm creature shop, and we tackled it together,' Miller said. 'We built a practical creature that was puppeteered by an amazing puppeteer named James Ortiz and a team of five, which we called the Rocketeers, and it was amazing having Rocky there on set every day so that we could have a real interaction and shoot the whole thing practically. Ultimately, it's going to end up being a beautiful blend of creature puppetry and animation, and he comes alive in a way that you would die for this character.' Sounds like it's beautiful, but maybe not pretty, just like a PC. Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, opens in theaters on March 20. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
