APS
2026 APS Annual Convention · 2026
Remembering the Unreal: How Deepfakes Hinder Human Memory
- Roberto Atzeni
La Sapienza Università di Roma - Alessandro Santirocchi
La Sapienza University of Rome - Pietro Spataro
Universitas Mercatorum - Aicia Naser
La Sapienza University of Rome - Maria Chiara Pesola
La Sapienza University of Rome - Vincenzo Cestari
La Sapienza University of Rome - Clelia Rossi-Arnaud
La Sapienza University of Rome
Abstract
Across three studies (N = 198), participants failed to discriminate real from AIfaces and showed poorer memory for deepfakes. Real faces produced higherrecognition, fewer false alarms, and greater sensitivity. Deepfakes looked morehuman yet were encoded less distinctly, revealing a systematic memorydisadvantage for synthetic faces.
