Recognition of real and artificial intelligence-generated faces
Source record
sulimani-2026-recognition-ai-faces· 2026 · Perception
Evidence tier: B (peer-reviewed-journal) · Verification: verified-abstract (compiler confidence: medium)
Bottom line: AI faces were recognised (remembered) more accurately than real faces, both face types were classified above chance with no difference, and recognition and classification accuracy were not correlated.
Citation
N. Sulimani, A. van Hunenstijn, A. Albonico (2026). Recognition of real and artificial intelligence-generated faces. Perception, 55(10), 924-937. https://doi.org/10.1177/03010066261442089
Verification entry (identifiers, resolvers, claims with source locations): /data/citations.json#sulimani-2026-recognition-ai-faces
Study design
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | Face-memory (recognition) task with real and AI-generated faces, plus a human-vs-AI classification task; correlation between recognition and classification accuracy |
| Modality | image-face |
| Stimuli | Real and AI-generated faces (generator not in abstract) |
| Participants (N) | not recorded |
| N detail | not in abstract |
| Topics | face-recognition, memory, human-detection, covert-recognition |
Results
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition memory | significantly higher for AI faces than real faces | no values in abstract |
| Classification | above chance for both face types; no difference between them | |
| Recognition vs classification | not significantly correlated | authors suggest partial unawareness of the AI-face memory advantage |
Limitations
- Values not checked against full text
- Generator and N not recorded
Cited in
- MR-0001: Human Detection of Deepfakes: Accuracy, Bias, Confidence, and Training
- MR-0002: The Uncanny Valley and Synthetic Media: Does It Exist, What Causes It, and Have Deepfakes Crossed It?
Verification
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Status | verified-abstract |
| Compiler confidence | medium |
| Checked on | 2026-10-18 |
| Via | Europe PMC abstract record (PMID 42053250) |
Values on this page have not all been checked against the full text. Confirm them against the primary source before high-stakes use.