McAfee has revealed a pioneering AI-powered deepfake audio detection technology, Project Mockingbird, during CES 2024. This proprietary technology aims to defend consumers against the rising menace of cybercriminals employing fabricated, AI-generated audio for scams, cyberbullying, and manipulation of public figures’ images.

Generative AI tools have enabled cybercriminals to craft convincing scams, including voice cloning to impersonate family members seeking money or manipulating authentic videos with “cheapfakes.” These tactics manipulate content to deceive individuals, creating a heightened challenge for consumers to discern between real and manipulated information.

In response to this challenge, McAfee Labs developed an industry-leading AI model, part of the Project Mockingbird technology, to detect AI-generated audio. This technology employs contextual, behavioural, and categorical detection models, achieving an impressive 90 percent accuracy rate.

Steve Grobman, CTO at McAfee, said: “Much like a weather forecast indicating a 70 percent chance of rain helps you plan your day, our technology equips you with insights to make educated decisions about whether content is what it appears to be.”

Project Mockingbird offers diverse applications, from countering AI-generated scams to tackling disinformation. By empowering consumers to distinguish between authentic and manipulated content, McAfee aims to protect users from falling victim to fraudulent schemes and ensure a secure digital experience.

Deep concerns about deepfakes

As deepfake technology becomes more sophisticated, consumer concerns are on the rise. McAfee’s December 2023 Deepfakes Survey highlights:

• 84% of Americans are concerned about deepfake usage in 2024
• 68% are more concerned than a year ago
• 33% have experienced or witnessed a deepfake scam, with 40% prevalent among 18–34 year-olds
• Top concerns include election influence (52%), undermining public trust in media (48%), impersonation of public figures (49%), proliferation of scams (57%), cyberbullying (44%), and sexually explicit content creation (37%)

McAfee’s unveiling of Project Mockingbird marks a significant leap in the ongoing battle against AI-generated threats. As countries like the US and UK enter a pivotal election year, it’s crucial that consumers are given the best chance possible at grappling with the pervasive influence of deepfake technology.

MyShell releases OpenVoice voice cloning AI

A new open-source AI called OpenVoice offers voice cloning with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

Developed by researchers at MIT, Tsinghua University, and Canadian startup MyShell, OpenVoice uses just seconds of audio to clone a voice and allows granular control over tone, emotion, accent, rhythm, and more.  

MyShell unveiled OpenVoice in a post this week, linking to a pre-reviewed research paper explaining the technology as well as demo sites on MyShell and HuggingFace where users can try it.

Dual AI models enable instant voice cloning  

OpenVoice comprises two AI models working together for text-to-speech conversion and voice tone cloning.

The first model handles language style, accents, emotion, and other speech patterns. It was trained on 30,000 audio samples with varying emotions from English, Chinese, and Japanese speakers. The second “tone converter” model learned from over 300,000 samples encompassing 20,000 voices.

By combining the universal speech model with a user-provided voice sample, OpenVoice can clone voices with very little data. This helps it generate cloned speech significantly faster than alternatives like Meta’s Voicebox.

Californian startup 

OpenVoice comes from California-based startup MyShell, founded in 2023. With $5.6 million in early funding and over 400,000 users already, MyShell bills itself as a decentralised platform for creating and discovering AI apps.  

In addition to pioneering instant voice cloning, MyShell offers original text-based chatbot personalities, meme generators, user-created text RPGs, and more. Some content is locked behind a subscription fee. The company also charges bot creators to promote their bots on its platform.

By open-sourcing its voice cloning capabilities through HuggingFace while monetising its broader app ecosystem, MyShell stands to increase users across both while advancing an open model of AI development.

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