AI-generated video quality has rapidly advanced, producing alarmingly realistic clips that populate platforms like TikTok, Shorts, and Reels. Viral synthetic videos feature convincing details such as cinematic camera movements, realistic lighting, and believable textures, accumulating millions of views. Traditional visual artifacts—warped faces, mangled fingers, overly smooth textures—are becoming less reliable for detection as temporal inconsistencies are reduced. No perfect checklist exists to confirm authenticity, and small details often reveal artificiality where the synthetic mask slips. Cutting-edge tools like OpenAI's Sora and Google Veo 3 are approaching professional filmmaking capabilities.
AI-generated video has gotten way too good. Scary good, actually. Because of that, our feeds are flooded with suspiciously perfect clips - like impossibly cute animals bouncing on trampolines - racking up millions of views across TikTok, Shorts, and Reels. With AI content blending seamlessly into our scroll, it's not always easy to know what's real. So, how can you tell if a viral video is AI-generated?
Negar Kamali, an AI research scientist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, told Mashable Tech Reporter Cecily Mauran last year. The old giveaways - warped faces, mangled fingers, impossibly smooth textures - are getting harder to catch as the tech improves. Temporal inconsistencies are being cleaned up. But just like with those surreal animal clips captured on fake doorbell cams, the truth still lives in the little details. That's where the synthetic mask always slips.
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