AI-powered misinformation and disinformation campaigns are a “threat of a generation” but the government’s ability to do anything about it is “quite limited,” says the prime minister’s national security adviser. Article content
Jody Thomas delivered a bleak picture about the growing fight against distorted or false information worldwide during a speech at a Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) event Friday.
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The only snag is that if you regulate the big players, the disinformation cockroaches will scurry into smaller corners and multiply there.
At least when they’re all in one place, it’s easier to keep an eye on them all at once.
The true irony here is that my conspiracy-junkie mother is still on Facebook – despite the fact that it’s the single biggest surveillance network that people voluntarily contribute to daily.
If you break up the big players and all the roaches scurry to smaller corners … the less effective they become.
The fact that there are big corporations controlling information and allowing disinformation to flourish means that bad actors have a large base to work from. And the company has all the incentive to make money on it. Literally Facebook is short selling democratic society by investing in fascist and authoritarian ideology.
Having big corporate social media companies doesn’t round up and control bad actors … they give bad actors a platform and a very large blow horn to reach as many people as possible.
The “easier to keep an eye on them” mentality only works if we do something once we observe shenanigans.
Otherwise it’s just a mealy-mouthed punt in the same category as “both sides”.