In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between human-generated and machine-generated data. To address this challenge, AI detectors have been developed. But what exactly is an AI detector , and how does it work? This article sheds light on this rapidly expanding technology.

What is an AI Detector?

An AI detector is a tool or software designed to analyze text, images, videos, or other content to determine if it was generated by artificial intelligence. These detectors are particularly used in education, journalism, cybersecurity, and research, where the authenticity of the content is crucial.

Examples of use:

• Check if an assignment was written by a student or by a tool like ChatGPT.

• Detect AI-generated fake images (deepfakes).

• Identify automated disinformation campaigns.

How Does an AI Detector Work?

How it works depends on the type of content being analyzed, but the general logic is based on machine learning models that can spot "signatures" left by an AI.

1. Linguistic analysis (for texts)

For AI-generated texts, detectors rely on several criteria:

• Repetitiveness or uniformity in style.

• Lack of nuance or natural human errors .

• Word probabilities : AIs often use sequences of words that are statistically very likely.

Some detectors, such as ZeroGPT, GPTZero, or Originality.AI, assign an “AI-generated probability” score to a text.

2. Image or video analysis

For AI-generated images or videos (eg, deepfakes), detectors use computer vision techniques:

• Search for visual defects (inconsistent shadows, artifacts).

• Detection of modified metadata .

• Analysis of spatial and temporal coherence.

3. Behavioral or contextual analysis

Some detectors also rely on the content production environment (creation speed, writing habits, etc.).

Conclusion:

AI detectors have become essential tools for preserving content authenticity in the digital age. While they are not infallible, their use combined with human vigilance can greatly help identify artificially generated content. As technologies evolve, the balance between automated creation and transparency is becoming a major challenge for society.