LinkedIn’s AI Innovation

LinkedIn recently shared an innovative solution, a sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) image detector that has exhibited a 99% success rate in identifying fake profile photos. The groundbreaking technology also maintains a low false positive rate of 1%, signaling a significant leap in the platform’s security protocols.

LinkedIn’s Fight Against Counterfeit Profiles

There are multiple motivations for the creation of sham LinkedIn profiles. Some believe that attaching a LinkedIn profile to an article’s author bio increases Google’s trust in the site due to the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principle. Others use such tactics to make their websites appear more credible.

AI-generated profile images have intensified this issue, with the proliferation of counterfeit profiles becoming a massive problem. LinkedIn reportedly detected and eliminated a staggering 21 million bogus accounts in the first half of 2022.

LinkedIn’s Stance

LinkedIn asserts that they are dedicated to advancing the efficiency of its anti-abuse defenses to safeguard its member’s and customers’ experiences. They are proactive in their partnership with academic institutions to stay ahead of new forms of abuse associated with fake accounts using emerging technologies like generative AI.

Detecting Fake Accounts

Identifying forged profiles has become increasingly complex with the rise of AI-generated images. The untrained eye finds it challenging to distinguish these counterfeit images from real ones. LinkedIn, however, has developed a method to spot “artifacts” that serve as telltale signs of AI-generated profile photos.

LinkedIn stated, “With the onset of AI-generated synthetic media and text-to-image generated media, fake profiles have become more sophisticated. We’ve discovered that most members can’t visually differentiate real from synthetically-generated faces…”

Uncovering AI-Generated Content

AI-generated images tend to have shared patterns or structural differences that don’t exist in real photos. LinkedIn’s research has found that certain areas, such as around the eyes and nose, are significantly similar in synthetic images. In contrast, real images don’t share such commonalities, resulting in a blurry composite when grouped.

LinkedIn’s Detection Success

LinkedIn has an impressive record in detecting artificially created images. With a true positive rate of 99.6%, their approach successfully identifies synthetic StyleGAN, StyleGAN2, and StyleGAN3 faces while incorrectly classifying only 1% of real LinkedIn profile photos as synthetic.

The Impact of LinkedIn’s AI Detector

Affiliate marketers, who previously used fake LinkedIn profiles to lend credibility to their authors, have felt the effect of this detection technology. One such marketer mentioned that LinkedIn was able to catch all of their sham profiles, leaving them seeking other ways to add credibility to their authors.

As the AI detector’s real-world application continues to impress, LinkedIn persistently improves its capacity to catch bogus profiles, making the creation of counterfeit profiles significantly more challenging.

Original Announcement

Refer to the original announcement here for more detailed information on LinkedIn’s new technology and its approach to combating fake profiles.