AI AND DECEPTION

An alarming overview of the uses—and misuses—to which artificial intelligence is already being put.

For readers who might be hazy on the general differences between concepts like weak vs. generative AI or what often-heard terms like deepfakes or natural language processing might mean, Mooney lays out the basics in simple, low-tech language. But when it comes to specific examples or details of technology or technique, this work is less robust, going more for rehashed reports of news services and other companies that were caught using AI improperly interspersed with ominous but vague references to increasingly sophisticated scams and disinformation campaigns by shadowy bad actors. The chapter on plagiarism and cheating discusses AI in academia and efforts to detect or prevent it, by, for example, creating assignments that cannot be completed with AI; students rightly or wrongly accused of misconduct chime in with brief, cautionary quotes. The final chapter, on synthetic identity fraud, describes this rapidly growing crime and preventative measures. The author’s barrage of warnings, underscored by suggestions that new ways to abuse AI are emerging far more quickly than efforts to counter them, insistently and cogently conveys the message that the threat is real, and its level is rising. Stock photos showing racially diverse individuals punctuate the text.

Topical and accessible, but mostly useful as a jumping-off point.