Last week marked the start of landmark court action that a consortium of US states has brought against Meta over the effects of its social media platforms on young people. Much of the opening arguments focussed on the addictive effects of its algorithms and infinite scrolling. Those insidious features are bad enough, but my biggest fear is that these platforms will rob us of our grip on reality.
It remains to be seen whether the young can be protected by National’s 11th hour bid to introduce legislation banning under-16s from social platforms (ACT says not, and does not support the banning Bill introduced yesterday to Parliament). But let’s not stop at children in assessing the grip on reality: The potential to lose the ability to determine what is real is a danger facing all of us.
Once upon a time, losing touch with reality was a quick way of being declared insane. Today, it can afflict all of us, and I have to admit that it is driving me mad.
Every time I addictively scroll down Facebook, I am confronted by images that look real, but which are the product of artificial intelligence. I see the reimagining of historical events, bikini-clad maidens with near-impossible torsos, idyllic scenes, horrific scenes, and cats and dogs that are endearingly cute.
Those are the ones that disclose their origins or which I can readily identify as AI-generated, but I have been caught out with images I took to be real. Continue reading “The truth is: You can no longer believe your eyes”
