Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023 is “authentic”, which is a fitting follow-up to their word of the year choice for 2022, “gaslighting,” a term for deceiving someone into doubting their own realities or beliefs.
“To thine own self be true.” Polonius’s remarks in Hamlet serve as a constant reminder to examine ourselves. However, according to Merriam-Webster, “when we question authenticity, we value it even more.” Honestly, yes. These days, every bit of our lifestyle is Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven; deep fakes and post-truths have blurred the boundary between “real” and “fake.” Authenticity gets prominence as Elon Musk believes that individuals should be more “authentic” on social media, and celebrities such as Taylor Swift strive for “authentic voice” and “authentic self”. But is that horizon of “authenticity”? While it is a desirable quality, what does the term “authentic” really describe? Being true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character? Not false or imitation? Made or done in the same way as an original?
An evolving mechanism
Over time, the mechanism of authenticity evolved. Although Rousseau maintained that the need for others’ approval undermines authenticity, Sartre and Heidegger acknowledged that external influences are unavoidable and that society and the natural world shape us just as much as our own choices. Therefore, “authenticity” in today’s world ought to be entwined with celebrity culture, identity, and social media, along with AI and its deep fake avatar. It is also bound to be closely related to “fake news”, which surfaced out of nowhere in November 2016. Even though former U.S. President Donald Trump relentlessly bashed the media as “fake news”, Merriam-Webster states that its origins date back to the 1890s. Mussolini even distributed a manipulated photo of himself to the general population.
Is “authenticity” the plague of the 21st century? What has transpired is that because of constantly advancing technology, it is now easier, less expensive, and quicker to produce and distribute fake contents. It even raises the question of whether Mr. Trump was key in creating the post-truth world. Or whether he was merely one of post-truth’s greatest products during its formative stages. The barrier, however, has now been breached by generative AI; the horizon has been expanded further.
Today’s AI avatars are able to create realistic-looking opinion page articles, fiction, paintings, and even research papers. After admitting that AI was used to create a prize-winning photograph, German photographer Boris Eldagsen declined the Sony World Photography Award in April, stating that he was curious to find out if contests were ready for AI photos to enter. Evidently, they were not.
We witness an AI-generated image of Pope Francis donning a stylish puffer jacket, unsettling deep fakes of well-known actors, and potentially harmful audio or video clips amid important elections. Due to social media’s magical ability, they quickly reach millions and are capable of orchestrating irreversible damage before being identified as fake and debunked. Furthermore, we would never know the exact number of unidentified “fake” news stories, articles, images, audio or video clips, and research papers. The shade of uncertainty widens.
‘Infocalypse’ is imminent
According to AI scientist Nina Schick, “Infocalypse”, the biggest information and communications crisis in world history, is imminent. Further, the boundary between mainstream and social media is getting blurred. For instance, in October, the fake news of Amartya Sen’s passing swept the media, originating with a post on social media.
Have we slipped down the rabbit hole of AI and social media and into the era of post-authenticity? “Trust,” however, is the biggest casualty in effect. In his 2021 book of the same name, journalist Michael Grothaus described how society is transforming into a place where we would “Trust No One”.
Today, anyone may cast a doubt on anything by just publicly doubting its authenticity, regardless of how real it is. It helps the bad actors; in 2018, American law professors Bobby Chesney and Danielle Citron popularised the phrase “liar’s dividend”. The greatest risk to mankind is that we might soon cease to take anything at face value.
Because of AI’s presumed ability to create seemingly convincing text and data, researchers and journal editors are becoming increasingly concerned about integrity. Allegations of falsified or wrong data on various topics important to the common people, such as GDP, employment, inflation, and COVID-19-related statistics, frequently rock different societies. With the AI boom, the falsification of data and text could evolve into a new realm in this post-authentic age.
Hazy lines
The lines separating truth from falsehood, right from wrong, love and hate, and war and peace, are becoming more and more hazy in this post-truth era. We understand that “authenticity”, which is inherently like an honest “performance”, remains elusive because fake news’s post-authenticity is a social issue that is a sign of waning “trust” in a common civic endeavour rather than a purely technological or media problem. Technology’s glitter is not helping society either.
But we still strive for authenticity and an illuminating, trustworthy future for mankind, even when it seems like we are heading towards a dystopian future in which we would “Trust No One”. Sadly.
Atanu Biswas is Professor of Statistics, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
