A guide to the 'intellectual dark web'
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Last week’s US election came at a time of more information than ever. Donald Trump’s plans, character flaws and legal troubles were reported in meticulous detail, and he won anyway.
But humans are not perfectly rational and ethical, writes Luke Munn from 澳大利亚昆士兰大学 . We are driven by fear, relationships and anger.
We may, as OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman recently said, be living in the Intelligence Age – but more information won’t necessarily solve the world’s problems. Scientific reason can be ignored or refused. And facts can be trumped by “alternative facts”.
The Intelligence Age is a polarised one. Mainstream media outlets – and the shared reality they reflect – are dwindling in importance beside the more niche audiences of YouTube channels and podcasts. Many believe Trump won the election, at least in part, thanks to his engagement with podcasts – and particularly Joe Rogan’s.
Dr Jamie Q Roberts has been following Rogan and the online free speech movement – known as the intellectual dark web – for years. Others in this cohort include former Democrats Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, all now picked by Trump to head major US government departments. Their ideas are disparate, but they’re united by a rejection of “woke” liberals. Roberts offers a valuable guide to their thinking and how it’s evolved.
Together, these two essays help us understand the world we’re in right now – which is an essential first step to figuring out how we might navigate it.
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Thanks to all of this week's contributors including (but not limited to): Lewis Mitchell Melissa Humphries 澳大利亚阿德莱德大学 Matthew Sussex Griffith Asia Institute 澳大利亚国立大学 Bridgette Glover University of New England (AU) 澳大利亚悉尼大学 Karen Thompson 澳大利亚墨尔本大学 Philippa Specker Angela Nickerson 悉尼新南威尔士大学 Belinda Liddell University of Newcastle Wesley Morgan Ben Newell Nafis Alam Monash University Malaysia Dr Justin Ellis Australian Catholic University University of Canberra Jeanine Leane James Cook University Alison Hutton Western Sydney University
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