I believe that artificial intelligence will not exacerbate the spread of misinformation.

Understanding the Impact of AI on Disinformation: A Balanced Perspective

In recent discussions surrounding artificial intelligence, a common concern has emerged: Will AI-driven content generation exacerbate the spread of disinformation? Many believe that as AI becomes more capable of producing vast amounts of “junk” content, the landscape of misinformation may become even more chaotic. However, upon closer examination, this assumption warrants a more nuanced analysis.

The Reality of Content Consumption and AI-generated Misinformation

It’s true that AI can produce a large volume of low-quality or misleading material. When we look broadly at social media platforms—such as TikTok, Instagram, and others—it’s evident that AI-generated content is increasingly prevalent. Logically, this might suggest an uptick in disinformation. But is that necessarily the case?

Consider the behavior of an average user, including myself. If I were tasked with scrolling through a feed filled with short videos, I might watch around 100 to 150 clips in a sitting, regardless of whether they are human-created or AI-generated. The same applies to these AI-created snippets; they merely add to the existing influx of content but don’t fundamentally increase the number of videos I might watch. The total volume remains roughly consistent with typical browsing habits.

Furthermore, humans are inherently exposed to an immense amount of disinformation—much of it generated by other humans over the years—that we simply can’t consume all at once. Adding a petabyte of AI-generated falsehoods doesn’t necessarily increase the disinformation we encounter in a meaningful way; it just adds more of the same type of content to the existing pool.

Content Preferences and Cognitive Filters

Our attention tends to gravitate toward content that entertains, interests, or provokes an emotional response. Analyzing personal viewing patterns reveals that the majority of content I engage with includes cat videos, humorous clips, political commentary, and a mix of casual entertainment. The distribution of content I consume hasn’t dramatically shifted over the past five years, despite the rise of AI technology.

Similarly, our brains are wired to respond to certain formats and cues—such as sensationalist thumbnails or emotionally charged snippets—that facilitate disinformation but don’t necessarily increase how much false content we see. Essentially, AI may generate convincing deepfakes or doctored clips, but if our consumption patterns remain the same, our overall exposure to misinformation doesn’t necessarily escalate.

The Subtlety of AI-driven Disinformation

It’s worth acknowledging that AI can create more sophisticated forms of disinformation, such as doctored video