A language expert challenged our listeners to tell between voices created by AI and those of real people - ahead of a scam-busting summer school at Lancaster University.
Professor Claire Hardaker visited the Beyond Radio studio where she played three clips of audio of different voices, to demonstrate how difficult it is to tell if they are Artificial Intelligence-generated or not.
The three-day FACTOR summer school at the university campus will be open to the public and will look at the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by con-artists.
Running from Monday July 28 to Wednesday July 30, the school will examine how deepfakes and AI-generated voices which sound like real people are helping scammers around the world.
LISTEN to these three voices - are they AI or real?
Here's the full interview with Professor Hardaker, with the answer!
"Over the course of three days, we’ll take you through the worlds of forensic linguistics (FL), forensic speech science (FSS), and in particular, the newest challenge we’re all facing – the (mis)use of AI," said a university spokesperson.
"Within this we’ll introduce you to the uniqueness of our voices, the telltale linguistic habits we unconsciously fall into, and how well AI is currently able to replicate them. On the last day you'll take on the role of investigative expert with a high-profile fraud case to solve.
"And finally, we hope you'll walk away a little better prepared in case the fraudster's next target happens to be you."
Tickets are £30 each. This includes all teaching sessions and handouts, a summer school bag with a selection of goodies, coffee/tea breaks across all three days, and a packed lunch during the middle day.
The summer school is open to those aged 18 and above.
You do not need any prior experience or expertise in language, linguistics, AI, computing, criminology, or law whatsoever.
Speakers at the summer school will include experts Professor Claire Hardaker (Forensic Linguistics, Director of FACTOR), Dr Georgina Brown, (Forensic Speech Science, DSI Deputy Theme Lead for Responsible Security), Dr Isobelle Clark (Forensic Linguistics, Security & Protection Science) and Dr Justin Lo (Forensic Phonetics, Security & Protection Science) as well as FACTOR students Greta Esposito and Hope McVean.)
Lancaster's Linguistics and English Language department is consistently ranked third in the world.
You can book and find more info HERE.
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