In the summer of 2020, a fake video circulated the web. It ignited a conspiratorial narrative that continues to drive half the country’s views on race. It led to riots that killed more people than the issue they protested against. Of course, I am speaking of George Floyd.
If you’re on the left, you can feel free to replace every instance of “George Floyd” with “Dominion Voting Machines”, because they’re the exact same pattern.
The Skeptic Research Center found that a vast majority of very liberal, liberal, and moderate Americans believed in wild overestimates of police killings, as well as a slight majority of conservative and very conservative Americans. This delusion is directly tied to the “Systemic Racism” conspiracy theory at the base of the Democratic party’s platform.
All of this is old news. Any remotely informed American knows that blacks are given special priveleges in hiring, education, government contracting, and the legal system. The “Systemic Racism” conspiracy theory perpetuates not because it is true, but precisely because of its obvious falsehood. There are entire industries employed by this falsehood who would lose everything if the truth were recognized. Those who would lose everything from the truth will do anything to continue the lie.
George Floyd was a fake video because of its narrative. The criminal domestic abuser in the video is actually YOU, random black man watching. Save for criminals initiating violent encounters with the police, this narrative was a lie every bit as fake as an AI-generated video. It led to policies which killed over ten times as many people as it helped, even counting those who initiated violent encounters against police.
“But Brian, do you think the events in the video itself actually happened?” Even answering that question misses the entire point. Hundreds of millions of Americans behaved in a way completely detached from reality due to the video, leading to hundreds of deaths. George Floyd’s life is a rounding error when determining the fakeness of the video. In other words, whether the events in the video actually happened would not affect even 1% of the deaths. George Floyd was a deepfake. It may have been a 99.9% deepfake or a 100% deepfake, but it is irrelevant.
What Does This Have To Do With AI
Many personal friends are worried about AI that can generate realistic images, voice recordings and videos. The technology for that last one is far more distant than the other two, but in my view, all three will have a positive impact. AI will make fiascos like the George Floyd deepfake impossible; it will render them as powerless as telephone scams. Now, telephone scams do steal money from a small fraction of people each year, but not half the country or the president of the United States.
The current American population is woefully unaware of the extent to which they are lied to with video footage. Some are aware, but indifferent. Either way, AI generated deepfakes are a tax on stupidity. And like with telephone scams, very few people will be fooled twice once money is on the line.
Frequency and immediacy are the key factors. In the current moment, viral deepfakes are generated semi-randomly and hurt people with enough of a delay that many fail to learn this lesson. The murders caused by BLM, other than in the immediate rioting, only manifest in next year’s statistics. They often don’t personally affect the media figures and politicians most responsible for the lie. All of this changes when the frequency and immediacy of deepfake scams becomes identical to telephone scams.
Of course, I don’t believe that the American population will suddenly become enlightened and believe only true things. But that’s not the point. The point is that the peak of deepfake power is right now. The average American will be better off, both personally and politically. He may only be slightly better off or significantly better off, depending on the person. Either way, the worries over a deepfake future are better focused on the deepfake present.
Has anyone considered the effects of AI persuasion on fading Boomers in particular? They are persuadable already and it seems hard for old people to calibrate their sense of trust downward rapidly, so they are the easiest marks for ops.
I lived in Minneapolis at the time. Lake street looked like Syria, after. No matter how much the mostly black north side, called for more police, the city council was united in defunding. Crime skyrocketed in every category, there were 900 police and then there were 525. An officer says to me in 2022, "we think if a guy applies to work here he must be crazy." North Side black scholar athlete star quarterback murdered on the street randomly by two black youth, nothing happens. Police shoot young black man who pulls gun on them in crackhouse, liberals go ballistic. If Trump wins they are going to let Minneapolis burn to the ground.