Fake Taylor Swift porn. Gaza photorealism, fictionalized. The list of disturbing deepfakes continues, and as tools to create them get cheaper and simpler, fakes are arriving quicker and fiercer.
Recent Pew Center research found that 66% of Americans had seen edited films and graphics meant to mislead, with 15% seeing them regularly. In a separate Axios and Syracuse University AI expert study, 62% indicated disinformation would be the largest barrier to news trustworthiness in an AI-generated world.
The answer? Exists one?
Deepfake detectors, according to cybersecurity expert and Clarity co-founder and CEO Michael Matias. In 2022, Matias, Gil Avriel, and Natalie Fridman founded Clarity to detect AI-manipulated video and audio.
Clarity is among several major and small firms developing deep-fake-spotting solutions. Others include Reality Defender, which isolates text, video, and picture deepfakes, and Sentinel, which targets images and videos.
This writer finds it hard to identify Clarity’s products from others. Clarity’s app and API scanning tool uses numerous AI models trained to discover patterns in videos, pictures, and audio deepface generation approaches, like competitors. Clarity also offers watermarking to verify materials.
Matias says Clarity’s quick responsiveness to new deepfakes is the key.
Matias said Clarity uses AI but is a cybersecurity startup. Clarity views deepfakes as viruses that rapidly proliferate. The solution was designed to fork and duplicate for adaptability and robustness. The team created infrastructure and AI models to complete the request.”
Of course, deepfake detection accuracy changes. The velocity at which GenAI and deepfake-creating applications are advancing makes it hard to win even with the finest knowledge and tech stack. That may be why Google, Microsoft, and AWS are using more advanced watermarking and provenance information to resist deepfake.
Clarity hasn’t had difficulties gaining support. The 13-person New York firm secured a $16 million seed round led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners alongside Secret Chord Ventures, Ascend Ventures, and Flying Fish Partners.
It seems to have found a niche. Clarity, which offers subscription and pay-as-you-go programs, first targeted news producers and the Israeli government. Matias says Clarity authenticates and verifies Israel-Hamas war films. It now includes identity verification services and other unspecified “large enterprises.”
“This is a fast-paced arms race, like traditional cybersecurity,” Matias added. “Any company that wants to stop deepfakes must move as fast as their creators and spreaders.”
Clarity raises $16M for detection of deepfakes
