McAfee, a cybersecurity company, has launched Project Mockingbird. This is an AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection technology. With this project, the company hopes to protect consumers against the growing threat of AI-generated audio scams. The technology uses a combination of AI-powered contextual, behavioural, and categorical detection models to identify whether the audio in a video is likely AI-generated, with a 90% accuracy rate. According to McAfee’s chief technology officer Steve Grobman, this technology will be officially announced during the CES 2024 exhibition.
Steve Grobman said that combating “deep fakes” has great technical significance. “It is like weather forecasting and can help individuals make informed decisions in digital participation.” Regarding the pricing of “Mockingbird”, Grobman said that the current plan is not to charge additional fees to users but to include it in McAfee+.
What is Project Mockingbird?
Project Mockingbird is an AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection technology. It was developed by McAfee to help defend consumers against the surging threat of AI-generated audio. These audios are used to carry out scams that rob people of money and personal information. They also enable cyberbullying and manipulation of the public image of prominent figures.
Why is Project Mockingbird important?
The use of deepfake technology has become a growing concern. This is because cybercriminals leverage Generative AI to clone the voices of celebrities, influencers, and even loved ones. The main aim of this is to defraud unsuspecting people. The technology can also be used to manipulate authentic videos, like newscasts or celebrity interviews, by splicing in fake audio to change the words coming out of someone’s mouth. Project Mockingbird is designed to keep users safe online against deceptive deepfake scams.
According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in November last year, new scams based on AI technology were defrauding local old people of their property. Throughout 2022, older people across the United States lost $1.6 billion to scams. Many of these scams used AI technology to “clone” the voices of acquaintances. These scams also make use of other tricks that rely on AI generation.
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Among various types of fraud, including financial impersonation and fraud, robocalls, computer fraud, trickery in dating profiles, and identity impersonation, the use of AI technology to imitate voices has become the most prominent scam. At a committee hearing on AI scams, several witnesses said “they were receiving calls that sounded like their loved ones were in danger, injured or being held hostage .”
Among them, an old couple received a call, and the voice on the phone sounded like their daughter was crying “Mom”, asking for their help. Gary Schildhorn, a lawyer from Philadelphia, also said at the hearing that he almost sent $9,000 to the scammer until he and his daughter-in-law confirmed it was a racketeering scam.
How does Project Mockingbird work?
According to McAfee, this project will combine a couple of models to detect fake audio. The project will probe the behaviour of the speaker to check whether the audio in the video is from AI. The technology also analyzes context, behaviour, and category to determine the authenticity of audio clips within videos. The first public demos of Project Mockingbird were kept at CES 2024, with wider availability expected.
Conclusion
Project Mockingbird is an AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection technology. It is developed by McAfee to protect consumers against the growing threat of AI-generated audio scams. The technology uses a combination of AI-powered contextual, behavioural, and categorical detection models. It also uses them to identify if an audio is likely AI-generated. The use of deepfake technology has become a growing concern. Thus, Project Mockingbird is designed to keep users safe online against deceptive deepfake scams.
Author Bio
Efe Udin is a seasoned tech writer with over seven years of experience. He covers a wide range of topics in the tech industry from industry politics to mobile phone performance. From mobile phones to tablets, Efe has also kept a keen eye on the latest advancements and trends. He provides insightful analysis and reviews to inform and educate readers. Efe is very passionate about tech and covers interesting stories as well as offers solutions where possible.
