22 Case Study: Miniature Highland cows
The Scenario
Cora was deep into her nightly scroll on TikTok when she stumbled upon an adorable video of a miniature Highland cow in a field. The sheer cuteness was almost too much to handle, but a tiny red flag popped up in her mind: Is this even real?
The next day, her For You Page (FYP), usually a mix of study hacks, questionable dance trends, and cooking fails, was now 90% miniature Highland cows. They were everywhere: frolicking in fields with daisy chains around their necks and getting brushed by loving owners. Each one seemed to to be cuter than the last, but the variety in their “miniature” size was startling. Some looked like really small cows, others seemed to fit in someone’s lap. The initial charm began to morph into suspicion. Was she falling prey to AI-generated content?
What should Cora do to learn if mini highland cows are real or fabricated by AI?
Since she’s looking at a video, not just a picture, Cora will take some time to really analyze the video itself.
- Do the animals move naturally? She’ll ask if the mini cows move the way real cows should. Are their movements smooth, or do they look a little jerky or unnatural? Do their eyes look like normal cow eyes? How does their fur move when they jump around? Even if most people don’t know what a cow’s eyes look like, Cora can quickly Google “cow videos” to compare.
- Look for weird background clues. Cora will also check the background of the video. Does the lighting suddenly change? Do objects in the back seem to bend or do strange things? She’ll also look for animals making the same movements or expressions over and over again. This often happens in AI-generated videos because the AI tends to create the most common or “likely” movements, which can become repetitive.
- Research the breed. As part of her Googling, Cora will look up terms like “miniature Highland cow breed association” or “miniature cattle breeds.” Real animal breeds usually have official groups with information, photos, and lists of breeders. She’ll ask herself: Do the cows in the TikTok video look like the descriptions and typical appearance of these real breeds?
- Check with experts. If she wants to be extra thorough, Cora can search for articles or information from the University’s Animal Science department or trusted veterinary websites about miniature livestock. These sources can confirm if genuinely small breeds of cows actually exist and what their normal traits are.
