Yes, you read that right. Grover – “a state-of-the-art detector of neural fake news”, is a machine created to detect fake news written by Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is able to do so more than 90% of the time. In order to do so, it has been taught how fake news is written and hence, can generate fake news based on a headline you create. You can even customize the author and domain of the article, and Grover will mimic the writing style of known journalists and of the news outlet chosen.
Screenshot of part of Grover’s interface (source)
The demo version was initially available to the public here, but unfortunately, it is no longer accessible when I checked it today. 🙁 I got to try it out though and generated this fake article:
Scary and fascinating how that was written by a machine, right? Fortunately, polar bears are not critically endangered… yet, they are still listed as “vulnerable”. Although sometimes there are parts that don’t make sense like “the new classification is the equivalent of relegation from the endangered category to the vulnerable one”, overall, the article is still quite convincing and seems like it was written by a human.
I sent this article to 5 friends that are not from BES as I wanted to find out how people who are not as knowledgeable/passionate about the environment would react to this fake article.
Firstly, I asked them how they felt after reading and they expressed disappointment, anxiety and concern. Next, I asked them what they would do after reading, and 3 of them responded that they would share the information with their friends and family or on social media. None of them thought of checking other sources to ensure this article is true. This suggests that they believed the article and easily became victims of fake news. Finally, I asked them why they felt the article was reliable and they stated reasons such as “the article is well-supported with evidence” and “there are quotes from professionals and international organizations”. Although it is true that the loss of sea ice and climate change has threatened polar bears, I think the last 2 paragraphs are made up as I could not find anything about the supposed study or the “IUCN senior conservation biologist Jack Hodgekinson”.
A demo version of Grover was made available to the public as the creators felt that this model is not capable enough to pose a risk. They also felt that it will be useful for other researchers that are also developing similar systems and for the general public to try. If so, I wonder why it is suddenly unavailable to the public, I was still able to access it a few days ago. Maybe it has been misused?
With technological advancements, there is much potential for these AI systems to become better at combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation. However, there could be detrimental consequences if these systems are misused. So, where should we draw the line in the development of AI as a potential solution for fake news?
P.S. I changed my site theme as I feel that the way it displays my thumbnails has an Instagram vibe so it fits my topic better hehe
ENV3102 October 14, 2020
Si Ying !
This is BRILLIANT !
In a way, it reminds me a bit of Sarah-Ann’s photoshop experiment (https://blog.nus.edu.sg/botanicaldrawer/2020/09/25/the-photoshop-experiment/)
For the open networked learning course I’m taking, the previous topic was digital literacies, and my group explored some of the risks – one being the proliferation of false info online, which, it seems spreads faster than accurate info, at least according to this 2018 article.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a class of deceitful (in a clever way) students like this, ready to investigate things quite like this.
Si Ying October 15, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Dr. Coleman,
Thank you so much!!
hehe my friends were really surprised when I revealed to them that the article was fake and generated by AI. I wished I could have done an experiment to see whether fake news indeed spreads faster than accurate news, but I didn’t want to get into trouble for spreading fake news haha
-Si Ying
jolee2001 October 16, 2020
Hi Si Ying!
This is a cool experiment! You’ve mentioned that your friends revealed emotions such as anxiety and concern upon receiving this fake news. I believe many of us will have similar reactions as well. Do you think that through the spreading of fake news, albeit it being wrong, can get more people to be more concerned about the environment (which is actually a good thing)?
– Jo
Si Ying October 16, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Jo!
That’s an interesting question. I guess in some cases like the fake article I generated, it can raise concern towards environmental issues. However, I don’t think we should go around spreading fake news although the intentions are good. I think it will only work in the short term, and likely backfire in the long run. When people find out that the news they read was not completely true, they will feel deceived and likely lose whatever concern they had for the issue. I imagine they would feel like “Oh, so that article is fake, maybe (the environmental issue) is not that serious after all”. They may also become skeptical of all the environment-related news they come across in future and not believe them even if they are true. (although this could be a good thing as they will be less susceptible to fake news)
Moreover, if environmental organizations use false info/exaggerate facts in order to raise concern and people find out about it, the trust people had towards these groups will be eroded. These organizations will lose their credibility and people will be less likely to listen to them in future even if their efforts are genuine. Climate change deniers may even use this against us by saying our arguments are weak since we have to fabricate/exaggerate evidence. It will also strengthen their belief that climate change is not a problem.
Overall, although fake news could increase concern for the environment, it is a risky method as it may reduce concern and undermine environmental efforts in the long term. I believe honesty in media reports and in advocating for environmental issues is very important if we want people to have greater environmental awareness and be encouraged to take action.
-Si Ying