How to Spot Synthetic Faces Online — the Clue Is in the Eyes

Fake faces created by neural networks do not have realistic pupils, say computer scientists.

The Physics arXiv Blog iconThe Physics arXiv Blog
By The Physics arXiv Blog
Sep 8, 2021 1:30 PMSep 8, 2021 1:29 PM
close up woman's eye - shutterstock 1224470146
(Credit: Oleg Gekman/Shutterstock)

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Computer-generated faces have recently become so good that they are hard to distinguish from the real thing. That makes them a useful tool for malicious operators on the internet who can use them, for example, to create fake profiles for nefarious social media accounts.

So computer scientists have been looking for ways to spot these images quickly and easily. Now Hui Guo at the State University of New York and colleagues have found a way to expose fake faces. Their weakness is their eyes, they say.

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