The AI Detector Dilemma Over 250 million people are using AI worldwide, and experts say that nearly 700 million people will be using it by 2030 (according to Statistia.com).
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Over 250 million people are using AI worldwide, and experts say that nearly 700 million people will be using it by 2030 (according to Statistia.com).
Because AI apps like ChatGPT can instantly generate articles, essays, and blog posts at the click of a button, some argue that it makes spreading disinformation and deception easier. AI detection software has gained popularity in response to fears of AI-generated content passing off as original content—and ironically, demand is growing for undetectable AI content.
Why It Matters
AI detection technology has a symbiotic relationship with AI-generated content. As artificial text detection becomes more accessible, those who want to use AI anonymously will seek discrete AI solutions that maintain their privacy.
Further, evidence suggests that AI text detection isn't always reliable or accurate. For example, an app called Undetectable AI can accurately identify patterns of AI-generated text and then remove those patterns if the user asks—making the text difficult or nearly impossible to detect.
The Double-Edged Sword Of AI Detection
While AI detectors claim to maintain content integrity, they also present some issues.
First, no AI detector is 100% accurate. False positives can unfairly flag human-written content as AI-generated, potentially harming writers and content creators. What happens if your writing style mirrors ChatGPT's?
Second, language models become harder to detect as they improve, making current detection methods obsolete. Tertiarily, using AI detectors raises questions about privacy, trust, and the future of creative expression. How much (if any) AI use should people be required to disclose?
Paradoxically, the emergence of AI detectors has created the demand for AI-generated content that can't be detected, seeming to exacerbate the problem detectors try to solve.
Detector vs Detector
AI detectors compete for customers and mass adoption; they compete against each other. Currently, leading AI detection companies like Turnitin, Originality, and Copyleaks are all for-profit businesses. In a perfect world, they might all unify—but there's a lot of funding behind AI detection technology.
Undetectable AI Presses On
There's undoubtedly a market for AI content that can't be identified. According to similarweb.com, Undetectable.ai —the leading adversarial AI-detection company — only suffered a 1.51% decline in monthly web traffic, with their total monthly traffic (between Jun-Aug 2024) being 2.367M.
Depending on how you look at companies like Undetectable, you may see either innovation and disruption, or technological villainry. It becomes a question of ethics: Is what Undetectable AI offers ethical? Why or why not?
As of September 2024, no laws in the United States regulate AI-generated text.
Find a Solution and Join the Race
Whether you innovate a current market by finding a solution or becoming the problem, the current AI detection market proves this: symbiotic competition creates and fuels markets.
Those who take risks and push the boundaries of what's possible may define innovation. May the best machine win.
