Will Artificial Intelligence Truly Exacerbate Disinformation? A Thoughtful Perspective
In recent discussions about artificial intelligence’s role in content creation, a common concern has been the potential surge in disinformation. Many fear that as AI becomes more sophisticated and widespread, it could facilitate the rapid generation and dissemination of false or misleading information at scale.
However, I believe this worry may be overstated. To understand this, consider how human-generated content has already saturated social media platforms—an ocean of videos, posts, and images, much of which can be inaccurate or misleading. AI-generated junk content simply adds another layer, but it doesn’t necessarily increase the proportion of disinformation you or I encounter daily.
For example, if you or I spend time scrolling through TikTok or similar platforms, we typically watch around 100 to 150 short videos. Whether these are created by humans or AI, the volume doesn’t significantly change the mix of content we see. The true question is: does adding AI-generated material introduce more disinformation into our feeds? Not necessarily. Since we’ve been exposed to vast amounts of human-created false information for years, the additional AI-produced content might not substantially alter what we see or believe.
Moreover, personal content consumption tends to be influenced by individual preferences—videos that entertain, surprise, or evoke emotion—rather than an ever-increasing flood of disinformation. Our brain filters and prioritizes what it considers worth engaging with, which remains relatively constant regardless of whether some content is AI-generated or not.
It’s also worth acknowledging that misleading content today often takes subtle forms. For instance, edited clips or selectively framed videos featuring public figures are more common than blatant lies. These formats can be even more convincing and harder to detect than overt disinformation. The advent of AI might produce more of these manipulative clips—deepfakes or doctored videos of politicians or celebrities—yet, considering the sheer volume of media consumed daily, I believe their overall impact will be limited.
In essence, the key factor is media literacy and our ability to critically evaluate what we watch. While AI might improve the realism of disinformation, its influence on the overall information ecosystem might not be as dramatic as some fear. The challenge isn’t solely the presence of AI-generated content but how consumers and platforms handle verification and authenticity.
What are your thoughts on AI’s potential to shape the future landscape of information? Will it be a game-changer in spreading disinformation, or will our existing media habits and critical thinking skills serve as
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