How to Spot AI Images and Videos Beyond the Surface

Clues that the convincing content you’re seeing is generated

I probably don’t need to tell you this is an AI-generated image, made with Midjourney. Or do I?

Once upon a time — about two years ago — many people could tell an AI image from a photograph. There were tells: skin too perfect, missing fingers, or gibberish text.

But now the “big” AI companies have addressed some of the flaws that made their image outputs look fake. And with the advent of video generators such as Sora (OpenAI) and Veo 2 (Google), more generated goop is flooding the internet.

One of the viral videos I’m seeing the most right now is two hummingbirds taking shelter from the rain in a flower. It’s quite convincing, and a lot of people online are praising the “beauty of nature.”

Except this isn’t some National Geographic find. Someone generated this clip using AI:

How do I know?

Well, there are some visual clues, if you look closely.

One of them is that the beak of the bird on the right seems to grow in length by the end of the…