By Mitch Gaynor
THERE may need to be an update on the old idiom, ‘believe none of what you hear and half of what you see’.
That’s based on the news – if you believe it – that 52 per cent of what you see and read online is now AI generated.
That’s up from about 10 per cent a few years ago and is still shocking, even if you’re a natural cynic like me or across the development of ChatGPT and its ilk.
But is it really surprising?
It feels like there’s been a surge of people trying to convince me of various ‘facts’ they’ve ‘read online’, as though that somehow makes them credible.
One story doing the rounds recently claimed Robert Irwin, was donating $5 million to house the homeless in Beerwah following a ‘tour’.
It was clearly rubbish – from the dodgy site to the sketchy details – but that didn’t stop thousands sharing and praising what a good-hearted guy Irwin was.
Few stopped to ask what tour he was on, why Beerwah, or what $5 million would actually get you anyway.
A quick check revealed the same story, with different names, circulating around the world. Fake news!
Another example was the supposed new driving rule making it illegal to drink water or eat while driving.
At least our cars would stay clean.
When lies go viral faster than truth, it’s not just annoying – it’s dangerous.
These and countless more stories are filling social feeds, dominating conversations and, worryingly, becoming almost normal.
How many studies do we need to tell us the risk of losing our ability to think critically?
It might sound conspiratorial, but it’s a utopia for Meta et al – and governments probably aren’t far behind. So are we now to believe none of what we hear and none of what we see?
That’s a depressing prospect, but not new. It’s just a modern echo of the disinformation spread via pamphlets after the printing press or by charlatans on the soapbox.
What can we do as individuals?
Stay alert, find trusted sources, get off social media, and pick up your local newspaper each week for a friendly dose of real facts, real people and real stories – the kind AI still can’t fake.
DoorClash
Our cover story this week reveals the rather bumpy start for DoorDash and local retailers following its introduction to the hinterland.
A month after it was meant to kick off local cafes and customers have been left unimpressed by the service, with a lack of local available drivers a key isse.
This means orders have been cancelled, money and food wasted and goodwill lost thanks to the poor rollout of a service that metro households have taken for granted for years. Just an hour from Brisbane you would think there’d be better organisation but it looks like we’ll be ordering in the old fashioned way for a while yet.