When my kids were wee, I tried to make them understand that lying to me was worse than anything wrong they may have done.
When they understood that owning up to some misbehaviour or misdemeanour would not result in the telling off they expected, telling the truth became the default.
As they grew older, things were not quite so simple. It was always an on-going process. Now as adults, some with children of their own, they can be critical and often question the perceived norms while always remaining open to debate and discussion.
Throughout my adult life, on more than a few occasions, I have felt very uncomfortable when I sensed that someone was being less than truthful, especially when I thought I knew the person well. This can erode trust, affect working and personal relationships and sometimes destroy them.
As we emerge from yet another election, the themes and accusations of lies, in the mainstream and social media, and in the political arena, are unfortunately far too prevalent and affect public perception and understanding of highly important issues.
This occurs through the deliberate spread of misinformation, propaganda and spin by politicians and media outlets to manipulate public perception, often bypassing traditional fact-checking. It is driven by polarised media agendas, corporate ownership, and social media algorithms that allow unverified claims to spread rapidly.
These practices are harmful, eroding trust in the democratic process and institutions and making it harder for the public to distinguish truth from fiction, depending instead on personal belief and emotions over objective facts. More frequently, we see abuse and violence being stoked by the spread of intentional misinformation.
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In response to all of this, ahead of May’s elections, the Electoral Commission launched an innovative pilot to detect deepfakes and counter the growing threat of AI misinformation. They identified false videos claiming a candidate has withdrawn, along with audio clips falsely depicting a candidate making offensive remarks.
They tracked their impact and worked with parties and candidates to take down or correct misleading material.
More information can be accessed at electoralcommission.org.uk.
Just as worrying is the huge increase in the use of AI to deceive and misinform. Just as it can be an incredible useful tool, it can also be extremely dangerous.
AI presents significant risks, ranging from immediate social harms to long-term threats, including the exaggeration of bias using algorithms, generating a massive amount of misinformation via convincing fake news outlets, job displacement through automating tasks, and cyber security threats.
Chatbots are being used as therapists or companions and offer dangerous, biased or harmful advice. As AI grows more autonomous, it risks undermining human decision-making and privacy.
I shall finish by quoting a line from the song, ‘Tell it How it Is’ by local singer/songwriter Yvonne Lyon with David Lyon: "What lie do I believe, what truth do I ignore?"
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