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Deepfake Watch 38
AI Fooled Dublin Halloweeners | Deepfake Watch
Browser View | November 08, 2024 | Subscribe
Happy Diwali and Happy Halloween!
Talking of Halloween, a massive crowd gathered in the heart of Dublin, all dressed up for an event - to eventually find out there was no Halloween party. The culprit for this confusion turned out to be an AI-generated article on a Pakistani SEO website.
Meanwhile, a law student in India has sued Jindal Global Law School, after he was accused of cheating in his exam using AI.
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That Halloween Event In Dublin That Never Was
In what might be 2024's most ironic Halloween story, Dublin just experienced a parade that never was. Thousands of costume-clad revelers gathered on O'Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, only to discover they'd been ghosted by an AI-generated event listing. Talk about a haunting experience!
The phantom festivities were courtesy of MySpiritHalloween.com, a website owned by Pakistani SEO entrepreneur Nazir Ali, that shot to Google's top search results with the promise of a "spectacular" Macnas Halloween parade. The result? A very real crowd gathered for a very fake event, forcing Dublin's police (the Gardaí) to step in and disperse thousands of disappointed parade-seekers who were blocking trams and sidewalks.
In conversations with Wired, a rather embarrassed Ali explained that his team had accidentally recycled old parade information while creating content for their holiday-focused website. Ali told reporters that his team was “highly embarrassed” and “highly depressed” from the backlash, insisting this wasn't a scam but rather a case of copy-paste gone terribly wrong.
The plot thickens when you learn that the website achieved its Google ranking in just three months, using what Ali describes as a mix of AI and human content creation - "10 percent or 20 percent" AI, with humans handling the rest. Their business model entails targeting high-traffic holiday events, creating content around them, and generating revenue through Google Ads and affiliate marketing.
Despite the comicality behind this unexpected and nonexistent street party in the heart of Dublin, it has sparked some serious conversations about the broader implications of unrestrained flooding of AI-generated content on the internet. Irish parliamentarian Gary Gannon pointed out that while we can chuckle about a phantom parade, the same technology could be used for less amusing purposes - like creating deepfake videos of public figures or spreading more serious misinformation that could lead to mob violence or riots.
As for Ali and his team? They're facing potential Google penalties and a stark reminder that in the world of AI-generated content, maybe it's worth checking things not just twice, but as Ali now promises, "triple-checking" everything.
The silver lining? Dublin City Council now knows there's definitely enough interest for a real Halloween parade next year. Sometimes it takes a ghost parade to inspire the real thing!
LLM vs LLM
A law student specializing in AI technology has found himself accused of using AI... by AI. As reported by Hera Rizwan for BOOM, Kaustubh Shakkarwar, an LLM student at Jindal Global Law School, is fighting back against accusations that 88% of his exam answers were AI-generated.
Here's the kicker: Shakkarwar is actually developing an AI platform called 'fidy.ai' to help people navigate legal processes. His platform aims to translate legal documents and send court case reminders, but now he's the one needing legal assistance.
After being failed for allegedly using AI in his "Law and Justice in the Globalising World" exam (you can't make this stuff up), Shakkarwar took his case to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His argument? The university had no clear guidelines about AI use in academic work. Plus, they never shared their official policy document – which, by law, should be publicly available in the Haryana Government Gazette.
But here's where it gets really interesting: AI detection tools, the very technology used to flag Shakkarwar's work, aren't exactly foolproof. Even Turnitin, the plagiarism-checking giant, recently admitted to an uptick in false positives with their AI detection tool.
Legal experts interviewed by Hera suggest that universities need to do more than just slap an "AI IS BAD" sticker on their policies. As lawyer Nandita Saikia points out, there's a world of difference between using AI to format citations, and having it write your essay. It's less about banning AI outright and more about understanding how to use it ethically.
The case raises some fascinating questions: In a world where AI is becoming as common as spell-check, how do we draw the line between enhancement and cheating?
Shakkarwar's case continues, serving as a perfect example of how our education system is grappling with AI integration, and potentially about to set a precedent for future cases of AI use in academics.
Have you been a victim of AI?
Have you been scammed by AI-generated videos or audio clips? Did you spot AI-generated nudes of yourself on the internet?
Decode is trying to document cases of abuse of AI, and would like to hear from you. If you are willing to share your experience, do reach out to us at [email protected]. Your privacy is important to us, and we shall preserve your anonymity.
About Decode and Deepfake Watch
Deepfake Watch is an initiative by Decode, dedicated to keeping you abreast of the latest developments in AI and its potential for misuse. Our goal is to foster an informed community capable of challenging digital deceptions and advocating for a transparent digital environment.
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