Latest news with #Oxylabs
Metro
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
How to spot if an image is AI after experts warn you 'can't trust your eyes'
Last year, Metro's night news editor, Barney Davis, wrote a story about a piano appearing on a London railway station platform. Commuters were confused, to say the least, but apparently didn't mind the musical interlude. Except, Davis didn't – he wasn't even at the Metro in 2024. And commuters at Clapham Junction were never 'baffled' by a 'mystery piano', given that this never happened. (Davis can also spell words correctly.) This is a fake news story that we asked ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, to generate today. It took only a minute or two to make. More than 34million AI images are churned out a day, with the technology constantly getting better at producing lifelike photos and video. 'AI imagery doesn't just fake reality, it bends context, and even a harmless-looking photo can be used to drive a dangerous false narrative,' said Naomi Owusu, the CEO and co-founder of live digital publishing platform Tickaroo, told Metro. 'Once fake imagery is seen, it can install a 'new reality' in people's minds, and even if it's proven false later, it can be incredibly hard to undo the impression it leaves.' Experts told Metro that there are still a fair few ways to spot an AI fake – for now, at least. Images made using text-to-image algorithms look good from afar, but are often far from good, Vaidotas Šedys, the chief risk officer at the web intelligence solutions provider Oxylabs, said. 'Hands are often the giveaway,' Šedys said. 'Too many fingers, misaligned limbs, or strange shadowing can suggest the image isn't human-made.' Take the bogus Metro story, the copy is riddled with spelling mistakes ('fuli-sized' and your favourite section, 'E-Dutton') and the font looks smeared. Or with the above viral TikTok clip, showing bunnies bouncing on a trampoline, the furry animals blend into one another and warp at times, which they definitely don't do in real life. Julius Černiauskas, Oxylabs CEO, added: 'You can typically identify a video fake when it has unnatural movements and poor quality, grainy images.' Okay, first of all—no judgement here. We're all fooled by AI images. It's not just you, but parents, politicians and CEOs. The result? It means the tech is doing exactly what it was designed to do: look real. The above is our attempt to write in the same way that chatbots now infamously do, a style that Šedys is 'overly polished and robotic'. 'Look for content that lacks natural rhythm or relies on too many generic examples,' he adds. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Deepfake technology is software that allows people to swap faces, voices and other characteristics to create talking digital puppets. 'Some people deploy deepfakes to scam or extort money, fabricating compromising 'evidence' to deceive others,' Černiauskas said. 'In other cases, deepfakes are used for spreading misinformation, often with political motives. They can destabilise countries, sway public opinion, or be manipulated by foreign agents. 'There are even those who create deepfakes just for the thrill, without any regard for the damage they may cause. 'Just because we haven't fallen victim to deepfakes, doesn't mean it won't happen as AI continues to improve.' ChatGPT and other synthetic image-makers excel at faces as they're examples of generative AI, so spend their days gobbling up online data. Researchers have found that faces created by AI systems were perceived as more realistic than photographs of people, called hyper-realism. So, ironically, a giveaway an image isn't genuine is that someone's face look's a little too perfect. Owusu said: 'It's not about trusting your eyes anymore, it's about checking your sources. We can't fact-check pixels alone. 'Use common sense: ask yourself how likely it is that what you're seeing is real, and how likely it is that someone would have captured that exact moment? If it looks too Photoshopped, it might be AI.' If you're suspicious, do a reverse image search, which will find other places on the internet the photo exists. 'If it can't be traced, it should be treated as unverified, no matter how compelling it looks,' Owusu said. Services like ZeroGPT can rifle through text to see if it's AI jibber jabber. Check the metadata – the digital fingerprints embedded in photos, documents and web pages – if something is raising your eyebrow. In May, four of the top 10 YouTube channels by subscribers featured AI-manufactured material in every video, according to an analysis by the Garbage Day newsletter. Some AI content creators don't specify that what their followers are looking at is a phoney, whether by saying in the caption or clicking a 'Made with AI' tag that some social media platforms have. Some accounts are nothing more than AI bots, spewing inauthentic posts and images. This shows how important it is to be intentional with who you follow, especially with news outlets, all three experts we spoke with said. Free and easy to use, countless people now turn to AI to help write emails, plan their weekly budgets or get life advice. But many people are also generating with impunity a flood of fake photos and videos about world leaders, political candidates and their supporters. This conveyor belt of misinformation can sway elections and erode democracy, political campaigners previously told Metro. The International Panel on the Information Environment, a group of scientists, found that of the more than 50 elections that took place last year, AI was used in 80%. More Trending It won't be long until counterfeit images and video become 'impossible' to differentiate from authentic ones, Černiauskas said, further chipping away at the public's distrust in what's in front of them. 'Don't take it for granted that you can spot the difference with the real thing,' he added. As much as governments and regulators may try to get a grip on AI hoaxes, the ever-advancing tech easily outpaces legislation. 'Don't trust everything you see on your screen,' said Šedys. 'Critical thinking will be your best defence as AI continues to evolve.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Parents and kids are using ChatGPT for schoolwork – is AI raising a generation of 'tech-reliant empty heads'? MORE: Here's why saying 'please' and 'thank you' costs 158,000,000 bottles of water a day MORE: Everything you need to know about the latest ChatGPT update
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OxyCon 2025 Announces Leading Speaker Line-Up to Converge on AI and Web Scraping
Oxylabs reveals the speakers joining OxyCon 2025, the go-to web scraping event that brings together data professionals worldwide. Experts from Turing, NielsenIQ and TEGOS Legal will come together with Oxylabs' own team for a free online day full of industry-leading conversations. This year's OxyCon theme is the role of AI in web intelligence, with talks on legal frameworks, real-life applications and how this affects a range of industries. VILNIUS, Lithuania, August 11, 2025 - Oxylabs, leading web intelligence platform and proxy provider, has revealed the 2025 agenda for the industry-renowned event OxyCon. This year's spotlight on AI-powered intelligence will feature experts from Turing, NielsenIQ and TEGOS Legal. These experts will come together to share insight on the role AI plays in web intelligence and provide actionable advice on how developers can start using this today. OxyCon annually brings together global industry leaders, technical experts, and data innovators. This year's event will explore how AI is transforming web scraping and vice versa - from smart automation and large-scale data extraction to legal insights and real-world case studies. Oxylabs CEO Julius Černiauskas said 'As AI continues to prove revolutionary across industries, access to data has become essential to power the boom.. Web scraping is an essential tool in the world of AI, and so it's more important than ever that we all come together and discuss how to access data in a fair and ethical way. I look forward to hearing from global experts on the role of web scraping in powering AI, now and in the future.' The announcement of 2025's agenda demonstrates the strength of those already committed to sharing thoughts. The sessions for this year's event include: Zia Ahmad, Data Scientist at Turing presenting the applications of Machine Learning (ML) for improving web scraping methods and the real-life applications of this he uses day-to-day in his role working on Google's Gemini. Fred de Villamil, CTO at NielsenIQ Digital Shelf giving a walkthrough of how e-commerce data can be scaled in a way that means organisations can perform data extraction on over 10 billion products per day. Denas Grybauskas, Chief Governance and Strategy Officer at Oxylabs and major voice within the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative leading a panel alongside partners from TEGOS Legal and Farella Braun + Martel on the complex legal landscape of AI and web scraping. A hands-on session with Rytis Ulys, Head of Data & Analytics at Oxylabs, on building AI-powered price comparison tools with only Cursor and Oxylabs' own AI Studio. Zia Ahmad, Data Scientist at Turing shared how timely his session will be: 'AI and web scraping can form a loop' Ahmad says. 'I'll explain how that loop could work, where data scraped from the web helps train AI models, and how those models, in turn, improve scraping. I'll cover both the benefits and the potential downsides of this feedback cycle. 'While not everything about it is practically feasible just yet, it's an exciting concept. I'll be discussing what's possible today, what might come in the future, what the blockers are, and how we might overcome them.' To find out more and claim a free space at the free virtual event held virtually on October 1st, visit the OxyCon 2025 website. Everyone interested will also be able to join the OxyCon Discord community, where they can engage with participants, speakers, and industry pros before, during, and after the event.-ENDS- About OxylabsEstablished in 2015, Oxylabs is a web intelligence platform and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilise the power of big data. Constant innovation, an extensive patent portfolio, and a focus on ethics have allowed Oxylabs to become a global leader in the web intelligence collection industry and forge close ties with dozens of Fortune Global 500 companies. Oxylabs was named Europe's fastest-growing web intelligence acquisition company in the Financial Times FT 1000 list for several consecutive years. For more information, please visit: Media ContactsVytautas +370 655 34419Email: press@ in to access your portfolio
Free Malaysia Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Cartier tells customers some data stolen in cyberattack
Cartier is the latest company to be targeted by cyber criminals. (EPA Images pic) ZURICH : Cartier, the luxury jewellery company owned by Richemont, had its website hacked and some client data stolen, it told customers, according to an email seen by Reuters today. The attack is the latest case of a company being targeted by cyber criminals, with several retailers including Marks & Spencer and Victoria's Secret disclosing similar incidents. Cartier, whose watches, necklaces and bracelets have been worn by Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama, said 'an unauthorised party gained temporary access to our system'. 'Limited client information', such as names, e-mail addresses and countries, had been obtained, Cartier said in the email. 'The affected information did not include any passwords, credit card details or other banking information,' it said, noting it had since contained the issue. The company said it had further enhanced the protection of its systems and data, as well as informed the relevant authorities, and was also working with 'leading external cybersecurity experts'. Cartier did not respond to a request for comment. Julius Cerniauskas, CEO of web intelligence firm Oxylabs, said the breach showed no brand is safe from cybercrime. 'Attackers are becoming more opportunistic and sophisticated, targeting brands that hold valuable customer data, not just credit card numbers,' he said. US lingerie company Victoria's Secret today disclosed that a security incident relating to its information technology systems had forced it to temporarily shut down its website for a few days last week. Victoria's Secret said the breach did not impact its financial results for the first quarter or cause a material disruption to its operations, but warned that its second quarter could be hit by the additional expenses incurred following the incident. British retailer Marks & Spencer said last month a 'highly sophisticated and targeted' cyberattack in April will cost it about £300 million in lost profits. Fashion brand The North Face, owned by VF Corporation, has also emailed some customers, saying it discovered a 'small-scale' attack in April this year. The company told customers the hackers used 'credential stuffing', trying usernames and passwords stolen from another data breach in the hope customers have reused the credentials across multiple accounts, the BBC said today. VF Corp did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. London department store Harrods also said last month hackers had attempted to break into its systems, following incidents at Marks & Spencer, and the Co-op Group.
