- Some companies use AI technology to post fake “staff” on their “About Us” page.
- An insider report by Evan Ratliff found many examples of companies using such images.
- One company owner said he added fake employees to make his company look bigger than it actually was.
Some companies use fake AI-generated images of “staff” to make their company look bigger and not present on the “About Us” page.
Research by Insider’s Evan Ratliff Companies used Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) software to create AI-generated images on their websites, and found that these “people” gave the impression that they were staff.
Ratliff spoke to Lukas, the man behind the Austrian exam prep company takeIELTS. The other had more hair on one side of his face than the other.
While the company seems to get a lot of positive reviews from legitimate customers, Lukas tells Ratliff that the impression of a large workforce has made takeIELTS more credible.
“I thought that was most likely the rationale behind a lot of the ‘about us’ sites,” Ratliff said, adding that some companies have mass-produced staff rosters. He added that they may want to “project an unprecedented level of diversity” by doing so.
Ratliff said when he checked in with takeIELTS a few months later, Lukas had removed all fake images and changed the company name.
The use of GANs to create “non-existent people” online has exploded in recent years with the increasing power of AI, but they are typically used as part of fraud or to influence elections.
“It’s not meant to impersonate anyone or steal your identity. It’s meant to impersonate anyone and mimic the basics of human appearance while increasing fidelity,” Ratliff said. I am writing.
Website of Informa Systems, another company. Selling Law Enforcement Training Materials The Austin City Police Department was covered in fake images. Ratliff found an image of the company’s alleged chief marketing officer, “Roger Tendul,” on 30 other sites. Only Informa Systems employee Mark Connolly looked like a real person.
Ratliff said companies are now developing software aimed at detecting fake images on corporate websites and elsewhere on the Internet.
