I admit that I stung. I saw a photo of Pope Francis in a white jacket that fits around his waist and did not determine that it was created by artificial intelligence. The sight was so incredible that, like all ceremonial garments, from the village priest to the bishopric, it could only be real. Dressed in exquisitely elegant clothing, luxurious fabrics, and uniform colours, these old gentlemen surpass aesthetics and cost the main stage of a blockbuster Hollywood “space opera” movie. XVI.
Approaching artificial intelligence (AI) based on this fake photo seems pointless, and it is, but no more than all the pre-tech considerations some AI applications provide to confuse some of us and perpetuate the certainties of others. Shortly before these mainstream apps exploded, we already agreed that the truth for fans of extremes is as loose as it is hard to believe.
What AI is bombarding with is believability, believing the unbelievable which is more and more true on this criterion, and appearances don’t have to deceive us, because we like them themselves, just like when we see a so-called photo of the previous day. Pablo Iglesias and Yolanda Díaz are smiling and arm in arm with the person who warned us that it was created by artificial intelligence. False is indistinguishable from the direct, which appreciates the lie and despises the truth. But that was over. While there are those who prefer jewelery to jewellery, there are those who prefer fiction to reality, monarchy to republic, and metaverse to life.
The new thing about AI is that it blows credibility and you can’t believe anything that’s either right or wrong and leave everything to what’s directly verifiable, something that drastically reduces the world. To give an example from your childhood, how would you know that Russia exists if you haven’t been there?