Artificial Intelligence was far from my mind when the Rose Bowl game started on January 1st. I’m not a major football fan, but since the University of Oregon was playing against Ohio, I wanted to root them on and see them win. Since we didn’t want to pay for sports TV, Ray assured me we could watch the game on YouTube. Sure enough, he found a site that featured it without annoying ads.
The green and yellow-clad teams lined up for the kickoff, with the announcer’s voice full of excitement. He discussed the players, with his voice rising and falling with first downs, near misses, touchdowns, and field kicks. Occasionally, the camera would scan the crowd or show the University of Oregon’s Duck dancing or Ohio State’s cheerleaders forming a pyramid. We cheered when Oregon made a touchdown and moved ahead, and we booed when Ohio State caught up, making it a close match. We weren’t sure who would win, but you might imagine our excitement when the Ducks made a final touchdown and won, with excited fans cheering in the stands.
It wasn’t until the following morning, when I read the Times that I discovered we’d been hoodwinked. Instead of losing, the Buckeyes took the lead early in the game and won by a large margin. I was horrified, yet glad I hadn’t discussed it with someone outside my house. It was embarrassing to be fooled so quickly, and I could have easily been a source of misinformation.
For months, I’ve been inundated with articles discussing the merits of AI and warning me about its risks. I am aware that articles and books are used without the author’s permission when algorithms are designed to respond to customer queries. But until the Pasadena game, I didn’t know Pandora’s box had already been opened.
I started paying more attention to discussions about AI. I’m concerned that social media sites stopped fact-checking and censoring misinformation that influences our thoughts and how we vote. Politicians, pharmaceutical, insurance, tobacco, health providers, and energy companies are known to hide the truth, as do hundreds of shysters who enjoy hoodwinking the public, thinking it’s cool. I find their behavior sickening.
This year, I plan to analyze what I hear on TV and read online. I vow to examine the source of information before accepting it as accurate. I also refuse to pay attention to reporting that isn’t clear, transparent, and fair. My time is too valuable. I’m angry that I wasted several hours watching a garbage sports program.
I wish I lived in a nation where people weren’t afraid of the truth, but I don’t. With misinformation and disinformation rapidly spreading, checking sources has become a burden everyone needs to assume. Remember when Hillary Clinton was accused of harboring young children as sex slaves as part of a child abuse ring operating out of a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor? As crazy as it sounds, people believed it. Thankfully, there are trustworthy organizations that do fact-checking full-time, making the job easier.
The City University of New York published a reputable list of fact-checking websites. The list can be found at https://library.csi.cuny.edu/misinformation/fact-checking-websites.
Were you ever gullible and taken in by false information? Most Americans have. Spreading false information is at epic levels.
What do you do to discover the truth? Share your thoughts at
https://www.eichingerfineart.com/blog/198698/hoodwinked
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______________________________________________________________________________I wrote The Water Factor to show how water cartels take over public utility districts with lies about their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The hero is a young man taken in by the glamor of getting rich by selling water. When his eyes are opened to the pain to the public caused by his company, he has to do something about it.
The Water Factor is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, Annie Bloom Books, and Powell Books Online at https://www.powells.com/book/the-water-factor-9798869362940
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