There is a famous quote that is found on the internet. “The problem with quotes found on the internet is that they are often not true.” That quote is claimed to have been said by US President Abraham Lincoln. Now we all know that Lincoln died over 100 years before the first advent of the technology that has become the internet. That doesn’t mean all quotes, or for that matter, all things found on the internet are true. In fact, more and more it is becoming easier to publish things that are fake, or even edit that which already exists – including the historical record.
As technology improves and the rate of innovation increases exponentially, the tools needed for this level of fakery are more accessible than ever before. Nearly 30 years ago, the first digital cameras cost as much as a new car. Now they are included in even the cheapest cell phones. Cell phones do everything well, except act as telephones – but that is for another column.
Technology is great. With the power of my simple phone, I can take a photo of a person, tap the screen, and delete the background, remove the grey hairs (or add hair in my case) and even cover up any skin blemishes. No skill required, just tap and go.
Fixing an unfortunate pimple or blemish, or deleting an ex from a photo is one thing, but what if that power isn’t used for good? Fake ID anyone? How about fake news? Or even better, misinformation.
Tap a few buttons and now people look younger or older. With everything existing digitally, how can you tell? Add in the new Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT which can write well enough (diction, phrases, etc) that even post-secondary professors struggle to see if a person did the work, or clicked a button to write that 3,000 word paper? What kind of damage can someone armed with basic and free tools do?
It’s not just that anyone can slap down $100 and start a website to put things on the internet. It’s that a great deal of information exists only online, and can be edited easily.
Take online sources like Wikipedia, a wealth of information on all things; it’s also completely changeable. Yes, there is moderation, and like anything fact-based, you should cross-reference your sources, but many don’t. It is easy to change dates, names, and even add or delete facts. If I look up something in a printed book, you can’t edit that book.
There is professional-level disinformation online for many events happening in the world. The level of disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the prevalence of ultra right-wing groups in the US and Canada are great examples of what works and how pervasive it can be.
Beyond the various good and evil ways all these tools can be used to alter, adjust, or corrupt how and what we see and read, there is another issue I see with the digital world – erasure.
What would happen if the greatest story ever written was published exclusively online – and after a year, it was deleted? Sure, someone might have copied it, or printed a copy on paper, but the official work or record would be gone.
All these publications, stories, records, that exist only in the digital world are comprised of a string of ones and zeroes – all which can easily be deleted.
A few years back, a friend died. For many years he ran a website in Montréal that contained the history of a topic and a lot of the content on the site was the result of decades of research. On Jim’s death, the site went poof! Most of that information probably wouldn’t interest many, but for those interested in the topic – it was important.
Since then, it has been three years of small group of people scouring online archives, groups, and their own printed material, to recreate what Jim had built. If his research had been published in a book, at least a paper copy would exist somewhere that could be found. In the land of ones-and-zeroes, gone is gone.
Technology is great, but when it comes to preserving the historical record, or really any record, old technology like paper and ink still has great value. I wonder what old Honest Abe would say about that?
This column was originally published in the July 17, 2024 print edition of The Morrisburg Leader.
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