Nikon, Sony and Canon Fight AI-Generated Fake Images With New Camera Technology

In response to the escalating spread of convincing fake images, major camera manufacturers like Nikon, Sony Group, and Canon are taking significant strides to combat this issue. Their collective endeavour involves integrating new technology into their cameras. This technology will verify the photo’s authenticity through embedded digital signatures.

These digital signatures encompass crucial information such as the date, time, location, and photographer details, constituting a robust defence against tampering. This innovation greatly benefits photojournalists and various professionals reliant on ensuring the credibility of their visual work. Nikon intends to introduce this feature within its line of mirrorless cameras. While Sony and Canon plan to incorporate it into their professional-grade mirrorless SLR cameras.

Nikon, Sony and Canon Fight AI-Generated Fake Images With New Camera Technology

Crucially, these industry giants have come together to establish a global standard for digital signatures, ensuring compatibility with a user-friendly web-based tool called Verify. This tool was developed through collaboration among global news organizations, technology companies, and camera manufacturers. It will empower users to easily verify image authenticity at no cost. When an image possesses a digital signature, Verify will display pertinent information. Should artificial intelligence generate or manipulate an image, Verify will promptly flag it as lacking “Content Credentials.”

The necessity for such advancements is evident given the proliferation of deepfakes. Notable figures such as former US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fall victim to this phenomenon, casting doubt on the reliability of online content. Additionally, the emergence of China’s Tsinghua University’s generative AI technology capable of producing a staggering 700,000 images daily underscores the urgency of combating the proliferation of falsified visuals.

Beyond camera manufacturers, other tech entities are joining the fight against fake imagery. Google has introduced a tool embedding invisible digital watermarks into AI-generated images, detectable through another tool. Intel’s innovation involves analyzing subjects’ skin colour changes in images to discern authenticity, based on underlying blood flow. Hitachi is focusing on preventing online identity fraud by validating user images.

The Camera Giants will Launch this Technology this year.

The anticipated availability of this new camera technology is set for 2024. Sony plans to launch it in spring 2024, followed by Canon later in the same year. Sony is contemplating extending this feature to videos, while Canon is developing parallel video technology. Canon has also introduced an image management app to discern images captured by humans.

Sony aims to encourage the widespread adoption of this technology among media outlets. It has conducted successful field tests with The Associated Press in October. Canon, on the other hand, has partnered with Thomson Reuters and the Starling Lab for Data Integrity, an institution co-founded by Stanford University and the University of Southern California, to refine and advance this technology.

Ultimately, these camera manufacturers aspire to instil trust and confidence in the images that mould our perceptions of the world through their innovative technological advancements.

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