In one of the most unsurprising developments in social media history, Dan’s feed informed him recently that Phil Collins had put on a special performance in New York City to honor the murdered Charlie Kirk.
Unsurprising, not because this actually happened (it didn’t) but because AI-generated nonsense has become sophisticated enough to anticipate people’s hot buttons. Genesis fan Dan is probably going to notice anything that mentions one of the band members. (By the way, happy birthday Mike Rutherford!) So claiming Phil had done something like this probably struck the AI bot as pretty good clickbait.
It’s crap, of course. Phil Collins is in poor health and isn’t performing anywhere right now. If he did, it seems highly unlikely that a British musician living in Switzerland – and not known for any particular interest in politics – would suddenly decide to pay tribute to Mr. Kirk.
Yet we saw quite a few people we know sharing this as if it was obviously true.
Another one in Dan’s feed claimed that Minnesota Vikings player Justin Jefferson had offered to pay all the living expenses for Kirk’s survivors. In case a few of you didn’t already know, the Vikings are Dan’s favorite team.
The news feeds of Pearl Jam fans are probably reporting that Eddie Vedder is doing something like this. If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, it’s Caleb Williams who’s stepping up to support the Kirk kids. (Also, if you are a Bears fan, may God have mercy on you.)
We realize some of you are big fans of AI. Our feelings about it are more . . . shall we say, measured. We recognize that it can do some things exceedingly well. But it also produces a lot of false, manipulative nonsense that’s tailored to entice very specific people in very specific ways.
If you see news online, check to see who wrote it. Check to see if it cites a source. Ask yourself if the “news” you’re reading is actually plausible. Don’t just believe the stupid crap you see online. It doesn’t seem like we should have to say this, but judging from the way some people are sharing this garbage, we do.