Radicalized Trust

From Internet Hoaxes to AI-Generated Reality.

The dawn of the internet age promised democratized information and global connectivity. However, as society embraced this digital revolution, it also grappled with an unexpected consequence: the rapid spread of misinformation. The journey from early internet hoaxes to today's AI-generated deep fakes illustrates both perpetrators' and defenders' continuous adaptation in the battle for digital truth.

In the early days of the World Wide Web, misinformation often took the form of chain emails and urban legends. These digital myths spread through forwarded messages, exploiting people's natural inclination to share exciting or alarming information. Society's initial response was primarily individual skepticism and fact-checking websites. Users became more savvy and learned to question outlandish claims and cross-reference information with reputable sources.

During The rise of social media platforms in the mid-2000s, I maintained a blog called "Radical Trust." I borrowed the name from one of the principles Tim O'Reilly outlined in his influential article, What is Web 2.0? I believed in the notion (maybe a little less now that I'm older) that people, when left to their own devices, will do the right thing because people are inherently good. Just look at Wikipedia, a crowdsourced platform that is bigger and more accurate than any other encyclopedia in history. However, you can't ignore the inherently bad people. There are not as many of them, but they have learned to feed on emotions with a publishing tool that gives almost infinite scale to their manipulations.

Unfortunately, social media has marked a significant shift in the misinformation landscape. Suddenly, false information could spread faster and farther than ever before. The Arab Spring and subsequent political events worldwide demonstrated both the power of social media to mobilize people and its potential to disseminate misleading narratives. The long-dormant “pizzagate” conspiracy theory – which posited that Democratic Party insiders harbored child sex slaves in a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor — led to severe real-world consequences causing significant violence, trauma and fear. Society's adaptation to this new reality involved developing digital literacy programs, with schools and organizations teaching critical thinking skills for the online world.

Social media companies, initially reluctant to police content, gradually implemented fact-checking mechanisms and content moderation policies. Governments and civil society organizations worldwide began to recognize the threat of digital misinformation to democratic processes and social cohesion, leading to public awareness campaigns and, in some cases, legislation to curb the spread of false information online.

The advent of sophisticated AI technologies, particularly in content generation, has ushered in a new era of digital deception. Deepfakes, AI-generated text, and manipulated media have raised the stakes significantly. Unlike previous forms of misinformation, AI-generated content can be incredibly convincing, blurring the line between reality and fiction to an unprecedented degree.

CBC News coverage of AI Deep Fakes

Society's adaptation to this AI-powered challenge is still in its early stages. Technical solutions like AI detection algorithms and digital watermarking are being developed. However, the arms race between generation and detection technologies continues to escalate. Legal frameworks need help keeping pace, with policymakers debating regulating AI-generated content without infringing on free speech rights.

Perhaps the most crucial adaptation is the shift in public mindset. As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, society is learning to approach all digital information with a healthy dose of skepticism. The concept of "seeing is believing" is replaced by a more nuanced understanding that even seemingly authentic videos or images may be artificial.

In the era of AI, seeing and hearing are no longer believing.

Educational institutions are updating their curricula to include not just digital literacy but AI literacy as well. Students are being taught how to spot potential AI-generated content and the ethical implications of creating and sharing such material.

The media industry, long accustomed to fact-checking and source verification, is developing new protocols for authenticating information in the age of AI. Journalists are being trained to use AI-detection tools and to approach sources with even greater scrutiny.

As we navigate this new landscape, the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of information is becoming increasingly distributed. It's no longer solely the domain of traditional gatekeepers but a collective effort involving tech companies, governments, educational institutions, and individual citizens.

The journey from early internet hoaxes to AI-generated deepfakes reflects our society's remarkable ability to adapt to technological changes. However, it also underscores the ongoing challenge of preserving truth and trust in the digital age. As AI evolves, so must our strategies for discerning fact from fiction, ensuring that the digital world remains a space for genuine human connection and knowledge sharing rather than a breeding ground for deception and radicalized trust.