"When I was celebrating at a birthday party with Brian, shortly after the 2016 US election, I met Geoffrey Hinton, one of AI's pioneers. He explained that Brexit and Donald Trump owed their victories to Cambridge Analytica and that, as a result, many people would suffer and even die. You don't need me to survey the debate, primarily apocalyptic but occasionally hopeful, about the future of a society in which data is mined and trolls attack anyone they disagree with."
"New alarms were set off in 2023 with the rise of chatbots and their capacity to generate academic writing on any topic within seconds. I'm no expert on information technology, much less AI, but AI prompts me, as a philosopher, to ask: How can universities address this crisis about what will count as knowledge in the future? Or, more precisely: What can our students learn to guide them in this muddled storm so they can help society?"
AI enables tailored disinformation, deepfakes, and rapid automated production of academic content, eroding traditional markers of knowledge and truth. Political manipulation through data mining has produced measurable social harm and heightened public mistrust. Mass accessibility to information removes the university's monopoly on knowledge and demands a new institutional focus. The university must prioritize critique, judgment, and interpretation over mere transmission of facts. Teaching should develop students' abilities to evaluate sources, discern truth, and consider ethical implications. Equipping students with judgment and interpretive skills becomes essential for society to respond responsibly to AI-driven challenges.
Read at The Walrus
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