39C3 Talk: Wikipedia battles AI-generated articles

Mathias Schindler, a longtime Wikipedia contributor and co-founder of Wikimedia Germany, reports on a troubling discovery at the 39C3 conference in Hamburg. While developing a tool to check ISBN checksums in German Wikipedia, he uncovered a significant problem: articles containing completely fabricated literature references generated by large language models. The issue emerged when Schindler found …

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The writer who wasn’t there: Inside a journalism scam tailor-made for the ChatGPT era

A Toronto magazine editor’s routine fact-check has exposed what appears to be an elaborate fraud spanning dozens of publications worldwide. The case reveals how artificial intelligence tools have made fabricating journalism remarkably easy. Nicholas Hune-Brown reports for The Local about his discovery of a writer named Victoria Goldiee, whose work contained fabricated quotes, invented sources …

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UK: AI-generated hoax image halts train services after earthquake

A suspected AI-generated image showing false damage to a railway bridge halted 32 trains following an earthquake in Lancashire and the southern Lake District. The BBC reports that Network Rail stopped services across Carlisle Bridge in Lancaster at 00:30 GMT on Thursday after the manipulated picture appeared on social media. A BBC journalist analysed the …

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Kagi Search introduces community tool to fight AI-generated ‘slop’

The search engine Kagi has launched a feature called SlopStop to combat low-quality, AI-generated content. The system allows users to flag and help downrank what the company calls “AI slop” in web, image, and video search results. Kagi reports on its company blog that it defines AI slop as deceptive or low-value content created to …

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Real estate agents use AI to create listings, raising concerns about deception

Real estate agents are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence to create marketing materials for properties. Kat Tenbarge reports for Wired that agents use AI tools to generate videos from photos, virtually furnish empty rooms, and write listing descriptions. An expert from the National Association of Realtors estimates that a vast majority of real estate professionals …

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Spotify updates its policies for AI-generated music

Spotify is introducing a series of policy changes to manage AI-generated content on its platform. The updates include a new system for labeling AI music, a spam filter to catch fraudulent uploads, and a clearer ban on unauthorized voice clones. Sarah Perez reports for TechCrunch. For labeling, the company will adopt the upcoming DDEX industry …

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AI chatbots create new opportunities for phishing attacks

AI-powered chatbots often provide incorrect website addresses for major companies, creating a new attack vector for criminals. According to a report by threat intelligence firm Netcraft, this vulnerability can be exploited for sophisticated phishing schemes. The findings were detailed in an article by Iain Thomson for The Register. Netcraft researchers tested GPT-4 models by asking …

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Open-source tool Anubis offers websites protection from AI scrapers

An open-source program named Anubis is helping website operators protect their sites from being overwhelmed by AI data scrapers. According to a report by Emanuel Maiberg for 404 Media, the developer Xe Iaso created the tool in her free time after her own server was repeatedly crashed by a bot harvesting data for AI models. …

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AI-generated images fuel online plant scams

Scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create and sell images of plants that do not exist. These fraudulent online listings target plant enthusiasts with pictures of exotic and impossibly perfect flowers or succulents, luring them with low prices. A blog post by the retailer Bob’s Market explains that customers who purchase these items may …

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AI content creator targets older women on social media with fake content

A self-described SEO specialist, Jesse Cunningham, has openly discussed how he uses AI to produce fake content targeting older women on Facebook and Pinterest. According to reporting by Maggie Harrison Dupré for Futurism, Cunningham creates large volumes of AI-generated articles and images on topics ranging from houseplants to recipes, attributing them to fictional bloggers with …

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