In recent years, the development of artificial intelligence has significantly changed the online space. More and more content is generated not by humans, but by algorithms that can create news, comments, and even videos. But this development of technology raises a number of problems. One of the biggest threats is the spread of fake information and content that has no real value. In this article, TechnoWizard will try to look at how artificial intelligence and automated bots are taking over the Internet and why this is becoming an increasingly serious problem.

How AI affects the Internet

The Internet has always been a place for discovering something new, where everyone could find useful information, share their opinions, or discover new ideas. But now, with the proliferation of AI, more and more content is being generated automatically. Algorithms that influence the work of such technologies are able to quickly and efficiently create a large amount of content without human intervention. All of this makes it possible to fill the Internet space with a huge amount of information, but this information often does not carry any additional value or may even be inaccurate.

The problem is that AI is not always able to understand the context of the information it generates. This results in content that looks plausible, but in fact makes no sense or is completely fake.

Mixing real news with fake news

While it used to be easy to verify information using multiple sources, it has become much more difficult. Bots that copy and share content can give the impression that their posts are authoritative sources. They simply generate all the content according to certain templates, which at first glance looks correct, but often lacks depth or even truthfulness.

Unfortunately, even trusted sources can’t always be reliable when news spreads so fast online. Bots are able to spread these fake news stories in the blink of an eye – they can be found on social media, news portals, and in comments.

Automated bots: impact on users

Despite the fact that bots are mainly used to automate tasks, they have another significant problem: they are a direct tool for manipulating and interfering with people’s opinions. No, not just some kind of content distribution, but literally creating the appearance of discussing ideas or supporting certain views. They can generate thousands of fake comments and reviews on various platforms, creating the illusion of popularity and trust in certain information.

This type of manipulation is most dangerous in the context of elections or public issues, where decisions are likely to be made on the basis of false information. Interacting with such bots will lead to users perceiving distorted and completely unreliable information as truth.

Influence on creativity

We cannot but admit that AI technologies have certain advantages, such as the ability to automate routine processes and help create a large amount of content in a minimum amount of time. Of course, it is possible to reduce the time spent on creating certain types of content and even on blogging or websites. But, as in any other case, technology needs to be controlled. It’s important to remember that artificial intelligence doesn’t have the emotions, experience, or intuition that humans have when creating content.

How to fight fake news

To combat the problem of fake news, including that created by automated systems, we need to increase the ability to critically evaluate information. Users need to learn to check sources and not rely on one piece of information without careful analysis.

Below are some quick tips on how to recognize fake content created by artificial intelligence:

1. Check the source. Trust in content starts with checking who published it. If it’s the official website of a well-known company, government agency, or reputable expert, the likelihood of fake news is lower, but still not zero. If you see a news story or post on a little-known website, in a newly created group, or from an anonymous user, be especially careful. Pay attention to the date of creation of the site, the availability of contacts, information about the editorial board or author. If the data is hidden and the site looks suspicious(?), it may be a sign of fake content.
2. Fact-checking (fact-checking). Before trusting what you read, try to find the same information in several independent sources. If the news or photo was published by only one resource, it is already suspicious. Look for mentions of this event in reputable Ukrainian and international media, check the details: dates, places, names. It is good if the information is confirmed by official statements or comments from experts. Sometimes it is useful to check whether this information has already been refuted by fake news debunking sites (e.g., StopFake, VoxCheck, Reuters Fact Check, etc.).
3. Analyze the emotional impact. AI and bots create content that encourages emotions, which is one of the ways they manipulate the audience. If a piece of content makes you immediately angry, scared, or alarmed, it’s a reason to stop and think. Fakes may contain calls for reposting, dramatic headlines, or use overly expressive language. Consider whether emotions are exaggerated, whether there are calls for aggression, panic, and immediate action.
4. Text stylistics. The generated text seems strange to read: it contains many unnatural errors, repetitions, inaccuracies, and random phrases that make no sense. Such text can be too formulaic, contain calques from other languages, and illogical transitions. Usually, it lacks vivid language, and all these mistakes and strange stylistics give away its artificial origin.
5. Rate images and videos. AI-generated images and deepfake videos usually have small but noticeable errors: unnatural faces (strange eyes, asymmetry, extra fingers, teeth), blurred or unrealistically detailed backgrounds, and blurred boundaries between objects. The video may contain strange movements, incorrect facial expressions, and sudden light changes.
6. Use special services. Today, there are many free and paid tools for content verification. For images, these are Google Images, TinEye, FotoForensics, and for videos, InVID. They will show whether there are similar images/videos on the web, or whether the file has been edited. This method will help you recognize fake content a little faster.

The future of the Internet and the role of AI

Despite all the problems, AI technologies will continue to play an important role in the development of the Internet. However, for these changes to have a positive impact on society, it is necessary to constantly monitor the quality of content. The Internet space should not become a place for fake information, and this requires the combined efforts of technology, social media, and users themselves.

Overall, it is important to remember that technology should serve people, not the other way around. This is the only way to preserve the Internet as a useful and safe space for interaction and information exchange.