Resiliency Report

Sometimes I do NOT want to learn something new, like AI. I posted a very moving video on my Facebook page. The small video showed the open casket of a policeman and his German Shepherd dog climbing on top of the body to lick his dead master’s face. I cried.

Unfortunately, one of my friends pointed out that it wasn’t a factual video. The coffin would not close. The uniform and face were different in the two pictures. In short, it was an AI-crafted video.

It was actually frightening to realize that. Here’s why: Truth is hard to find if disinformation can be crafted with deepfakes, botnets, and synthetic media. It’s the realm of autocrats who can generate articles under fake bylines, deepfake videos saying inflammatory things, and more.

We’re getting exhausted.

What to do? Establish human credibility anchors: local reporters, educators, and civic leaders whom we still trust. As the authors of Lincoln Square insist, prioritize human support over volumes of “data” that overwhelm and exhaust. I’m going to practice that “learning” the rest of this year.

My colleague, Lenora Billings-Harris, has written a marvelous piece about the difference between kindness and niceness. The former is marked by authenticity and boundary-setting. The latter can be manipulative and hurtful.

Read her article in the link below.