Image generation just makes the problem very visible… while making it harder to detect. Bot armies have been influencing perception and attempting to shift dir

Image generation just makes the problem very visible… while making it harder to detect. Bot armies have been influencing perception and attempting to shift direction for years. With words, often from anonymous strangers, on the internet. “News” is a product, and your local news channel is often just the local distributor, not the creator. Sure, there are local stories, but the national ones are sometimes read word-for-word. “Official sources” starts sounding ominous, rather than comforting. This might all eventually work out ok. People might have to step away from their screens, since the screens are known to lie rather convincingly. And getting away from the screens? That will remind people they used to live, and dream, without the help of computers. Humanity has been waving technology around recklessly since it learned to pick up a piece of wood or a rock. We’re crossing from the “Fuck Around” era to the “Find Out” one.