The Trust Crisis: How AI And Disinfo Are Rewriting The Rules Of Reality
The Trust Crisis: How AI And Disinfo Are Rewriting The Rules Of Reality
The rise of AI has created unprecedented disinfo challenges, with bad-faith actors already weaponizing it. I spoke with Ari Andersen about what this means for democracy and our ability to trust.
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This week, I sat down with my old friend Ari Andersen, Founder & CEO of Kibu, and had a thought-provoking conversation about the convergence of disinformation, technology, and politics. We touched on a lot of topics, but mainly, we discussed how this moment is impacting our trust in institutions and each other.
We discussed the proliferation, monetization, and exploitation of disinformation we’re seeing on online platforms as Trust and Safety teams are increasingly dismantled at major tech companies. This has allowed for the systematic abuse of incentive structures within the attention economy and social media algorithms.
In the pre-Fairness Doctrine repeal era, we used to have the Big Three networks, where commonly agreed-upon facts were presented. Now, we have the Big Me network, where each person exists within an individualized algorithmic reality where disinformation flourishes, and trust is the first casualty.
With the introduction of new AI tools, the disinformation environment is facing unprecedented challenges. We talked about those challenges and the increasing politicization of AI. I broached the risks to our democracy posed by those with authoritarian impulses seeking to abuse AI systems, the need for US regulation, and how the EU is leading the way with its AI regulatory framework.
We also had an interesting discussion about semiconductors and how the geopolitical battle over who controls the global supply of chips will shape the future of AI.
Right now, there’s only one company, a Dutch org called ASML, that produces the ultraviolet machines capable of manufacturing chips necessary to power AI models. The Taiwan chip manufacturing company, TSMC, produces 90% of the world’s chips. And US-based Nvidia controls 80% of the AI GPU market. America and China’s maneuvers over the next 5-10 years will prove instrumental in who dominates chip production - the Biden Adminstration’s CHIPS and Science Act was a positive step.
And finally, I talked about what makes me hopeful for the future of this space.
Check out the episode below and consider signing up for Kibu’s waitlist. It’s a new social media and trust authentication platform. The innovation Ari is creating in the Trust and Safety space is worth supporting.