Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to make waves. One of the concerning aspects of this disruptive technology is its ability to create fake images—both of faces and documents. In response to this challenge, tools are already beginning to emerge to help determine whether an image is real or was generated by AI.

One of the companies working on these solutions is Truepic, a company that has been in the market since 2015 offering solutions that allow users to determine whether an image has been digitally edited or altered. Truepic, which has received funding from investment funds backed by companies such as Sony, Adobe, and Microsoft, experienced explosive growth in 2020, when the pandemic led to a surge in online transactions. 

Truepic focuses on helping banks and insurance companies, among others, prevent fraud through image verification. It has also collaborated with other organizations, such as Ballotpedia in the United States in 2020, to verify images of politicians associated with social media posts (https://truepic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FINAL-Truepic-Case-Study-Ballotpedia-.pdf).

Along those lines, Google has added two new features to its search engine. One is “About This Image,” which provides contextual information such as whether the image—or a similar one—has been indexed by Google before, where it first appeared, and where else it has been published online. Second, the company will label all images generated with its generative AI tools as such and is working with other organizations, such as the AI company Midjourney and the stock photo site Shutterstock, to ensure they do the same with their images.