It used to be our society received common inputs of current events spanning political, social and beyond- I have not so fond memories of reading the backside of the printed newspaper at the breakfast table when I was younger. My parents would get the LA Times and my dad would read one section, mom the other and I and my younger sister sat across from them reading back pages. Just recently on a visit to my parents’ house I brought in their printed newspaper- which is now not much bigger than a leaflet. Where did the news go? Apparently in printed copy it is much less.
Besides the printed newspaper being slim the reality is that very few households have a daily newspaper subscription. In 2011 there were near.ly 575,000 subscribers and today there is only 114,000 average print circulation. The LA Times had the fifth highest circulation in US news in 2011 according to an article written in Nov, 2011. The other tradition that has also declined is watching the 6pm news on one of four news channels. Instead people get their news from a myriad of sources- Apple News, Facebook, Instagram, Tick Tok, YouTube… within each of these we each have our own algorithm that delivers the news of our choice/preference. The only way to ‘control’ the algorithm is to be careful as to what you click on. Each click and time on the click is measured and sold to advertisers and used to determine what stories in the news to share with you. If you like something or make a content producer a favorite then you are directing your feed to give you similar content.
Think about it- when was the last time your news feed was identical to your partner’s or friend’s? There will be overlap but it is not identical. This specialization makes it difficult to create a common connection within a society. in the most recent campus protests when reporters asked individuals why they were there the answers were varied and not always aligned to the ‘side’ the protester was on. At some points the protesters on opposite sides were chanting the same message. Here is the video for fun.
This fractured space is impacting the world in many ways that are having lasting effects. For example when we think about the US government and elections, with the use of highly specialized PR firms that mine data and public opinion polls candidates are able to fine tune their messaging to be highly geo-politically sensitive and through specific word choice nudge the popular vote impacting which candidate takes the lead. When one steps back from the rhetoric and asks the question- does this candidate reflect the morals and values of the country often there is a mismatch leaving the citizens with unrealistic options. Both political parties have this issue and it seems that the campaign trail is too far along and too deep in its own media that there is no room to raise these questions or doubt. Then afterwards we as a country are stuck with courts and legislatures making up laws (or taking down laws) that go against our human rights. Much of this comes down to the role of the media and the use of the data to support electing officials.
As we move as a society more into the space of the use of AI I wonder how much more polarized or fractured we will become as a society. What are our common values that an entire country stands behind? During COVID I had the opportunity to spend the lockdown period in Portugal where the government made clear their priority- reduce cases in the hospital system and keep schools open. The situation was managed with new directives coming out every two to three weeks and at times our individual freedoms were limited. For example on the weekends there were curfews and direction to not hold social events; at one point coffee was banned from being sold at local bakeries in addition to bars and restaurants being shutdown entirely. These restrictions were in place to focus on the priority and the society responded by following them. Mutual understanding was maintained because the government stated their updated rulings with explanation; they also provided funding to persons who were affected by these rulings as well. At the time Portugal had a cohesive social fabric.
With AI- much will have to do with what the system is trained with and how the system interacts with other AI systems. Some are proposing the in the future every person should have their own AI system that is aligned to the individual’s values and interests working to protect the individual from digital harm. In this instance there would continue to be a gap eroding a social fabric. I understand that we need to be protected from the evil digital thieves but how do we rebuild our cohesion as a society and work together towards common goals? This challenge also becomes particularly difficult with the variety of inputs we have for understanding what is happening in our world.
What do you think? Have you noticed this decay in our social fabric? What are ideas you have to overcome it? Please share.
Teaching Hacks 4 All 