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AI Faces Fool Experts: Study Reveals Growing Deception

2/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers from UNSW Sydney and the Australian National University (ANU) say distinguishing AI-generated faces from real ones is harder.
The study involved 125 participants, including super recognisers, who struggled to identify AI-generated faces.
The researchers found that confidence in spotting AI faces often exceeded actual performance.
Experts say outdated cues could leave people vulnerable to scams and urge reassessment of how images are perceived in social media and professional contexts.

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Story summary

Researchers from UNSW Sydney and the Australian National University (ANU) say distinguishing AI-generated faces from real ones is harder.
The study involved 125 participants, including super recognisers, who struggled to identify AI-generated faces.
The researchers found that confidence in spotting AI faces often exceeded actual performance.
Experts say outdated cues could leave people vulnerable to scams and urge reassessment of how images are perceived in social media and professional contexts.