I was just flicking through LinkedIn and my eye was drawn to a course on deepfake video technology. My intrigue morphed into action even as I felt like I was entering some kind of forbidden zone.
Given 24 hours free access to the course, I began to work through the videos. Now, I must concede that I’m a technical dunce and I’m usually not even interested to be honest.
I was shocked, when I saw, just a few videos in — both the deepfake and shallowfake technology — and the devastating results in how they’re used to manipulate and shift public opinion.
I do need to concede that until recently I was employed in an area where video and audio manipulation was important in the quality production of training videos for children, so I know it has good purposes. I’m aware of what can be done with even standard two-year-old technology. We were able to fix many glitches in filming simply through post-production editing, and for about eighty minutes of polished vision, only one short few-second scene needed to be reshot. But all this involved skilled professionals on both sides of the camera.
Deepfake technology has obviously targeted elections, but it goes far deeper than that. Typically, in bygone eras, we’ve only had access to gaslight the words and direct observable behaviours and how they’ve been used.
With the fast advances in technology and the use of deepfake technology by hackers, we all need to be on-guard as far as the authenticity of content we view on social media. Another problem is many become sceptical about actually authentic content and conspiracy theories abound.
The thing we all need to be aware of is, we stand most to be manipulated where we already have a pre-set bias there to begin with.
Therein lies the problem — we ALL have biases — we ALL want the information we consume to read in alignment with our biases. If it doesn’t, our default is to downplay it, and we look further for other information that agrees with our prejudices.
Here’s a test if you’re really committed to opening your eyes on the topic of bias.
Next time you’re in a social situation with anyone, wait on it to emerge. See how long it takes for the strong view to arrive in the conversation. You know, it’s the view where you can’t shake their opinion — many people reveal this within seconds. You might be surprised to note just how close to the surface it really is.
But before you wave your judging finger at the other person, tap into your own thoughts, feelings, leanings and words. Pinpoint what it is that drags you from the truth. Those experiences in our lives that have skewed our perceptions to believe upon certain values.
Do this and do it with consistency and rigour and I can assure you that you’ve embarked on a sure path toward spiritual freedom. We only know we’re on the pathway to truth when we’re honest about the lies we tell ourselves and have allowed ourselves to nurture over time without challenge. These live in all of us, they’re toxic, and we’re better off without them. Not only that, but those we love and live with are better off with a truer version of us.
As we live with less distrust in our lives, trust flourishes more and more, and our relationships improve across the board.
None of us can say we’re committed to God or to good or to the purposes of our lives unless we can fairly and squarely say, “There are lies living within me, and while they do, I’m imprisoned by them.”
We can also say, “BUT, I can live more freely as I live the prayer of Psalm 139:23-24, inviting God to search my heart for falsehood that garners anxiety and anything that separates me from truth.”
Photo by Federico Di Dio photography on Unsplash
No comments:
Post a Comment