What is a lie, and what is the truth? These are age-old questions, not some recent phenomenon. The Spanish-American War was at least in part precipitated by the

What is a lie, and what is the truth? These are age-old questions, not some recent phenomenon. The Spanish-American War was at least in part precipitated by the infamous "yellow journalism" of the time. Propaganda and disinformation played a large role in the events leading to and including WWII. And what is The Truth? Using photography as an example, lies can easily be told by omission, even without any dark-room chicanery. What is the photographer's subject? What is off-frame? Which photographs did the editor select for publication? What story is not being told? If anything, the idea that one can take information as "true" based on trust alone (what does the photograph show, what did the New York Times publish) seems to be a recent aberration. AI will be doing us a favor if it destroys this notion, and encourages people to be more skeptical, and to sharpen their critical thinking skills. Forget about what is "true" or "false." Information may be believed on a provisional basis. But it must "make sense" (a whole subject in itself), and it must be corroborated. If not, it is not actionable. There simply is no silver bullet, AI or no AI. Iain M Bank's Culture series provides an interesting treatment of this subject, if anyone is interested.