OpenAI releases its new DeepFake detector
Deepfakes are polarising society and being used to destroy democracy and so far very few methods to detect them actually work well.
Key takeaways
- On Tuesday, OpenAI said it would share its new deepfake detector with a small group of disinformation researchers so they could test the tool in real-world situations and help pinpoint ways it could be improved.
- Like the tech giants Google and Meta, the company is joining the steering committee for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, or C2PA, an effort to develop credentials for digital content.
- Anchored by companies like OpenAI, Google and Meta, the AI industry is facing increasing pressure to account for the content its products make.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2024) 'OpenAI releases its new DeepFake detector', 311 Institute, 9 June. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/openai-releases-its-new-deepfake-detector/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
As experts warn that images, audio and video generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) could influence the fall elections, OpenAI is (yet again) releasing a tool designed to detect content created by its own popular image generator, DALL-E. But the prominent AI start-up acknowledges that this tool is only a small part of what will be needed to fight so-called deepfakes in the months and years to come.
On Tuesday, OpenAI said it would share its new deepfake detector with a small group of disinformation researchers so they could test the tool in real-world situations and help pinpoint ways it could be improved.
“This is to kick-start new research,” said Sandhini Agarwal, an OpenAI researcher who focuses on safety and policy. “That is really needed.”
The Misinformation Apocalypse, by Matthew Griffin
OpenAI said its new detector could correctly identify 98.8 percent of images created by DALL-E 3, the latest version of its image generator. But the company said the tool was not designed to detect images produced by other popular generators like Midjourney and Stability.
Because this kind of deepfake detector is driven by probabilities, it can never be perfect. So, like many other companies, nonprofits and academic labs, OpenAI is working to fight the problem in other ways.
Like the tech giants Google and Meta, the company is joining the steering committee for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, or C2PA, an effort to develop credentials for digital content. The C2PA standard is a kind of “nutrition label” for images, videos, audio clips and other files that shows when and how they were produced or altered, including with AI.
OpenAI also said it was developing ways of watermarking AI generated content so they could easily be identified in the moment, and that the company hopes to make these watermarks difficult to remove even though so far watermarks have proven quite easy to remove ...
Anchored by companies like OpenAI, Google and Meta, the AI industry is facing increasing pressure to account for the content its products make. Experts are calling on the industry to prevent users from generating misleading and malicious material, and to offer ways of tracing its origin and distribution.
In a year stacked with major elections around the world, calls for ways to monitor the lineage of AI content are growing more desperate. In recent months, audio and imagery have already affected political campaigning and voting in places including India, Indonesia, Slovakia, and Taiwan.
OpenAI’s new deepfake detector may help stem the problem, but it won’t solve it. As Agarwal put it: In the fight against deepfakes, “there is no silver bullet.”
What this means for your organisation
Detection only covers one source.
The tool flags images from one generator but not from others. Any defence built on a single detector will miss most fakes. Organisations need layered checks, not one tool.
Provenance is becoming the standard.
The C2PA effort works like a nutrition label showing how content was made or altered. Companies that publish images, audio and video should plan to attach credentials to their own content.
Prepare for fakes about you.
Fake audio and imagery have already affected campaigns in India, Indonesia, Slovakia and Taiwan. Brands and executives are next in line, so response plans should be ready before a fake spreads.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- How quickly could we prove a fake video of our CEO is false?
- Do we attach provenance credentials to the content we publish?
- Which detection tools do we rely on, and what do they miss?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Deepfakes are polarising society and being used to destroy democracy and so far very few methods to detect them actually work well.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 9 June 2024. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2024). OpenAI releases its new DeepFake detector. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/openai-releases-its-new-deepfake-detector/
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