On Tuesday, Fox Corp. debuted “Verify,” a new tool based on blockchain technology. It aims to address the growing threat of “deepfake” content and misuse of digital media without authorization. This move comes as AI continues to make it easier to create and spread misleading content, leaving publishers vulnerable to unauthorized use of their material for AI model training.
Blockchain Hype or Real Innovation?
Some might see Fox’s foray into blockchain technology as a mere publicity stunt to bolster its image, especially in the midst of credibility concerns. One could view this as an attempt to capitalize on the buzz surrounding AI and blockchain to earn back public trust. The skepticism isn’t unwarranted, particularly for a media conglomerate often in the spotlight for its credibility.
Nevertheless, let’s put skepticism aside and examine Fox’s new tool seriously. From the aspect of combating deepfake content, Verify allows users to input URLs and images for authentication against the Verify database. On the licensing front, it provides AI companies access to content, ensuring compliance with licensing terms – facilitated by the Polygon blockchain, in partnership with Fox’s Blockchain Creative Labs.
Unlike many other initiatives in the crypto space, the choice to incorporate the Polygon blockchain might offer true benefits. It endows content in Verify with an immutable audit trail, assuring third-party publishers that they need not rely solely on Fox for safeguarding their data.
Putting Verify to the Test
We decided to test Verify’s effectiveness by uploading content onto its web app. The app’s limitations for consumer use became evident rather quickly. While it successfully verified content sourced from Fox News, its utility for content already originating from the platform seemed redundant.
Verify’s intended user, as suggested by its documentation, is one who encounters an article on social media and seeks to verify its source. However, when faced with this real-world scenario, Verify’s efficacy waned.
Despite landing on the same Fox News page via a tweet and inputting the URL into Verify, the tool couldn’t authenticate the article – a glaring shortcoming. Moreover, when tested with images from the same articles, Verify stumbled when presented with slightly manipulated images, signaling a need for technical refinement.
Future Challenges and Considerations
Even when functioning as advertised, Verify does not discern AI-generated content from human-generated material. This stands as a significant obstacle, especially in light of trusted outlets inadvertently incorporating AI-generated content. Moreover, consumer apathy towards verifying the authenticity of content adds another layer of complexity to Verify’s intended use.
For Verify to be truly impactful for consumers, integration into common content-viewing platforms like web browsers and social media sites is imperative. Without seamless integration, Verify risks being a tool that falls short of achieving widespread usability and impact.
In essence, Fox’s “Verify” tool presents a promising attempt to combat the rising tide of deepfake content. However, its current limitations and the broader challenge of discerning AI-generated content highlight the uphill battles that lie ahead before it can fulfill its potential.
The Impact of the Revolutionary Verify Database on News and AI Integration
The Beta Beginnings of Verify
It seems that Fox’s foray into the revolutionary Verify database has sparked debates and discussions across the industry with its initial beta version. Although it may currently be a barebones iteration, Fox has taken proactive steps to position it as a work in progress. As the scope of Verify expands, it becomes evident that Fox is not solely concentrating on the average consumer, as substantiated by their ongoing testing endeavors.
Redefining the Relationship Between Media Companies and AI Platforms
According to Polygon, Fox’s partner, Verify is adept at establishing a technical link between media enterprises and AI platforms. The platform further offers additional features that can potentially open up new commercial opportunities for content owners. This is achieved by leveraging smart contracts to define programmatic conditions for accessing content.
The precise details about these features may currently appear nebulous, but the underlying concept is intriguing. Verify aims to function as a global repository for AI platforms that scour the internet for news content, enabling them to determine authenticity. Additionally, it empowers publishers to control access to their content through licensing restrictions and paywalls.
The Critical Mass Conundrum
For Verify to realize its potential, it necessitates endorsement from a significant number of publishers and AI firms. Presently, the database encompasses roughly 90,000 articles from Fox-owned publishers, such as Fox News and Fox Sports. Moreover, the company has signaled its willingness to welcome other publishers into the Verify fold, while also making its code open-source for those aspiring to construct new platforms based on its underlying technology.
Empowering Publishers and Navigating Legal Quandaries
Verify’s licensing use case holds promise, particularly against the backdrop of the complex legal challenges confronting publishers and AI companies. Notably, the New York Times has recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging unauthorized use of its content to train AI models. In this context, Verify could furnish a standardized framework for AI entities to access online content, thereby endowing news publishers with a formidable position in their negotiations with AI enterprises.
