Friday 8 September 2023

With so much fake news, and even fake news about fake news, it’s hard to distinguish truth from lies and fact from fiction.

We are in the information age – surrounded by and subjected to content in all its explicit and implicit forms. But the continual barrage of news, statistics, opinion, rhetoric, and narrative often overwhelms our ability to rationally and objectively process what we see and hear, distorting our view of reality. And through AI systems such as ChatGPT, it’s getting more difficult to know if what we are reading, hearing, or seeing is true or even real.

We are entering an era where the control and manipulation of information through technology, on the internet, and particularly on social media, distorts our perception of the world and our society.

We discussed whether the use of AI will precipitate virtual mob rule, and lead us ever further towards the Orwellian nightmare of ‘doublethink’, ‘newspeak’, ‘thought crimes’ and the ‘unperson’.

Guest chaired by

Simon Mair (info), Independent Information Security and Data Privacy Professional

Presented by

Ian Hill (info), Director of Information & Cyber Security, Upp