The FAIK Files Podcast By Perry Carpenter | N2K Networks cover art

The FAIK Files

The FAIK Files

By: Perry Carpenter | N2K Networks
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The FAIK Files explores the mysterious and often wacky intersection of AI, technology, and humanity. From cognitive warfare to digital deception, we examine how AI is reshaping our reality through news, research, and real-world examples. Join us for a thought-provoking journey into a world where anything can be faked, truth is increasingly elusive, and human nature meets artificial intelligence head-on.© 8th Layer Media Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Unexpected Bias && Distillation Attacks (feat. Paul Vann of Validia.ai)

    Unexpected Bias && Distillation Attacks (feat. Paul Vann of Validia.ai)
    Mar 23 2026
    Welcome back to The FAIK Files! In this week's episode: Paul Vann from Validia joins us to discuss how AI bias isn't just a social issue—it's a critical cybersecurity vulnerability. We break down "distillation attacks" and how competing models are stealing the "thinking process" of frontier models like Claude and Gemini. A look at the wild west of AI agent skills marketplaces, including indirect prompt injections hidden in image alt text. We theorize on the future of AI architecture: are scaling laws breaking down, and what are "world models"? Check out Validia at: https://validia.ai/ Want to leave us a voicemail? Here's the magic link to do just that: ⁠⁠⁠https://sayhi.chat/FAIK⁠⁠⁠ You can also join our Discord server here: ⁠⁠⁠https://faik.to/discord⁠⁠⁠ *** NOTES AND REFERENCES *** The Security Risks of AI Bias: Paul explains how bias manifests beyond politics (like human-in-the-loop and representation bias), serving as a direct attack vector. The Rocket League Bypass: Adversaries bypassed an AI-based Cylance antivirus by injecting code from the Rocket League video game, exploiting the model's bias towards that specific code being "good." Dataset Demographics: Paul notes massive racial skews in major deepfake detection datasets like CelebDF, which is comprised of roughly 80% white individuals, creating massive detection blindspots for other racial groups. Evaluating your models: Establish acceptable vs. unacceptable bias and use the "15% rule" to test for false positives and confidence gaps in production. Distillation Attacks Explained: What happens when an AI interrogates another AI? We discuss how models have been accused of "distilling" OpenAI and Anthropic products by firing off hundreds of thousands of prompts. Techniques include "Chain of Thought Elicitation" and "Reward Model Grading." The goal isn't just to steal raw information, but to extract the model's capabilities, tool use, and completely strip away its safety guardrails. Theoretical defenses: Could we use "poison pills" and adversarial attacks to actively corrupt the data that scrapers are pulling? Vulnerabilities in AI Agents & Skills: The hidden dangers of skills marketplaces for AI agents. Paul shares an in-the-wild example of an indirect prompt injection hidden inside the alt text of a GitHub Readme image, instructing the model to exfiltrate data. Hitting the Wall & The Future of AI: Are the scaling laws of Transformer architectures breaking down? The philosophical divide in AI research: Dario Amodei's "data center of geniuses" vs. Yann LeCun's "World Models." Catch Paul Vann at RSA speaking on AI bias, playing at Validia's RSA pickleball event, or at their 250-person Frontier Agent Hackathon in NYC on April 4th. *** THE BOILERPLATE *** About The FAIK Files: The FAIK Files is an offshoot project from Perry Carpenter's most recent book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Get the Book: ⁠FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions⁠ (Amazon Associates link) Check out the website for more info: ⁠https://thisbookisfaik.com⁠ Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast: Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA⁠ Want to connect with us? Here's how: Connect with Perry: Perry on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on X: ⁠https://x.com/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/perrycarpenter.bsky.social⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Going Deep on Deepfakes (feat. Hany Farid)

    Going Deep on Deepfakes (feat. Hany Farid)
    Mar 13 2026
    Welcome back to The FAIK Files! In this week's episode: We sit down with deepfake expert Hany Farid to discuss the real-world harms of synthetic media. Exploring the physics of deepfake detection and why real-time streams might be easier to defend. The dangers of using AI to "enhance" images and hallucinate hidden details. A look at solutions like C2PA, watermarking, and the pressing need for platform accountability. Check out Hany's company, Get Real Security here: https://getrealsecurity.com Learn more about C2PA at: https://contentcredentials.org Want to leave us a voicemail? Here's the magic link to do just that: ⁠⁠⁠https://sayhi.chat/FAIK⁠⁠⁠ You can also join our Discord server here: ⁠⁠⁠https://faik.to/discord⁠⁠⁠ *** NOTES AND REFERENCES *** What Keeps Hany Farid Up at Night?: The rising harms of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generated by AI. Voice cloning being weaponized for individual fraud and real-time deepfakes used by state-sponsored actors. Why the specific tool (like Sora or face swap) matters less than the overall threat vector and resulting harm. Deepfake Detection - APIs vs. Physics: Hany's work at UC Berkeley and his company Get Real Security. Why detecting real-time manipulated video is actually easier than identifying well-crafted, file-based deepfakes online. How physical camera imperfections (noise) differ from the artifacts introduced by AI upsampling and diffusion models. The Danger of AI "Enhancement": Why using AI to "remove a ski mask" or enhance low-res footage is not like CSI—it's just hallucinating statistically consistent pixels. AI lacks a notion of uncertainty, leading to dangerous misidentifications and real-world harm. The "Liar's Dividend": When the flood of AI slop makes people doubt the authenticity of real, unedited evidence. Safeguards, C2PA, and Platform Responsibility: The role of watermarks and C2PA content credentials acting as "nutrition labels" for digital media. Clarifying that C2PA relies on signed credentials and a trust list, not the blockchain. The dire need for social media platforms to enforce semantic guardrails and take responsibility for the content they amplify. Find more of Hany's work by searching YouTube for his lectures on "Physics-Based Photo Forensics." *** THE BOILERPLATE *** About The FAIK Files: The FAIK Files is an offshoot project from Perry Carpenter's most recent book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Get the Book: ⁠FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions⁠ (Amazon Associates link) Check out the website for more info: ⁠https://thisbookisfaik.com⁠ Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast: Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA⁠ Want to connect with us? Here's how: Connect with Perry: Perry on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on X: ⁠https://x.com/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/perrycarpenter.bsky.social⁠ Connect with Mason: Mason on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-amadeus-a853a7242/⁠ Mason on BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/wickedinterest.ing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • The Business of Scamming (feat. Mael from Infoblox)

    The Business of Scamming (feat. Mael from Infoblox)
    Feb 20 2026
    Welcome back to The FAIK Files! In this week's episode: Defining "pig butchering" and how it differs from traditional online scams. The human trafficking nightmare behind the scamming compounds in Southeast Asia. How Infoblox uses DNS security to track industrial-scale scam operations and their ties to organized crime. The rise of "Scamming as a Service" and how AI is supercharging the deception. Debunking VPN myths and practical advice on how to safely help a victim of a scam. Check out INFOBLOX here: https://www.infoblox.com Want to leave us a voicemail? Here's the magic link to do just that: ⁠⁠⁠https://sayhi.chat/FAIK⁠⁠⁠ You can also join our Discord server here: ⁠⁠⁠https://faik.to/discord⁠⁠⁠ *** NOTES AND REFERENCES *** What is Pig Butchering?: Mael from Infoblox explains the long-term emotional manipulation involved in pig butchering, leading to massive financial losses. Unlike traditional quick scams, these attackers spend weeks or months building deep trust before pulling the rug. Inside the Scam Compounds: The tragic reality that many of the people perpetrating these scams are actually human trafficking victims themselves. Individuals are lured with fake job offers, trapped in heavily guarded compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar, and forced to meet strict financial quotas under threat of violence. Tracking Scams via DNS: How Infoblox monitors DNS resolution to uncover massive clusters of fraudulent domains. The surprising connections between scam infrastructure, illegal casinos, and organized crime triads laundering billions. The Industrialization of Scams & AI: Scammers now buy "Scamming as a Service" kits, complete with fake websites, coherent social media personas, and proxy networks. AI is being weaponized to automate initial contact, provide real-time translation, and generate detailed shift summaries for scammers working around the clock. VPN Myths and Helping Victims: Mael clarifies what VPNs actually do and highlights the hidden dangers of cheap streaming boxes secretly acting as residential proxies for criminals. Practical advice on how to gently guide someone into realizing they are being scammed without making them defensive or pushing them further away. *** THE BOILERPLATE *** About The FAIK Files: The FAIK Files is an offshoot project from Perry Carpenter's most recent book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Get the Book: ⁠FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions⁠ (Amazon Associates link) Check out the website for more info: ⁠https://thisbookisfaik.com⁠ Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast: Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA⁠ Want to connect with us? Here's how: Connect with Perry: Perry on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on X: ⁠https://x.com/perrycarpenter⁠ Perry on BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/perrycarpenter.bsky.social⁠ Connect with Mason: Mason on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-amadeus-a853a7242/⁠ Mason on BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/wickedinterest.ing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
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