GRASONVILLE — Addressing the rise in AI (artificial intelligence) and the disinformation age in a significant election year, the Queen Anne’s County League of Women Voters welcomed an evening of discussion on progressing AI and misinformation during its annual meeting and dinner at Prospect Bay Country Club May 7.
Noting hot topics in today’s world, guest speaker John Lewis, headmaster of Gunston School in Centreville presented “Artificial Intelligence and Disinformation” and its effects on democracy.
Headmaster of Gunston School since 2010, Lewis is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
As a founding faculty member of the Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito, an independent school in Ecuador, Lewis cited his experiences during the government collapse of the 1990s as solidifying his fundamental understanding of the fragility of democracy.
“I will never forget how easy it is for a system to fail,” he said.
Not predicting outcomes for the future, Lewis presented an overview of AI and described the state of the world underway.
Lewis encouraged the audience to imagine making predictions of how technology in the 1990’s would have evolved today, noting very few people in 1996 could have predicted the era of Amazon and Cloud.
“Just as the future of AI at this point in time is uncertain,” he said,
Comparing today’s AI with the clunky browsers and early internet of the 1990s, Lewis noted the world is at a pivotal point of history.
Technology and the rise of social media presenting information in a multitude of avenues has affected how truths are mediated.
“Faith in basic institutions is truly at a generational low…media polarization is a crucial component,” he noted. “When you have a low trust media information ecosystem you essentially have a truth crisis,” he said.
Components of AI include machine learning, neutral network, natural language processing, and robotics, he said.
Lewis explained, face recognition, data syphoning and micro targeting are all algorithms AI uses to collect and generate information.
AI is already being used to suppress votes, strengthen division and create narratives and realistic fake news, he said.
Predicting 2024 will see more voters in polls across the world, than any other point in history, and noting “You can’t spell campaign without AI,” Lewis believes AI will only continue to grow during the election periods and give way to periods of false information spreading like wildfire.
“The scary part of AI is how realistic it can appear,” he said.
Crucial pillars for the path forward include information literacy, informed citizenry, civic learning and personal and political virtue, according to Lewis.
“Moral finger wagging” is an essential aspect of a functioning democracy and areas of “news deserts” with little to no local media coverage are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to misinformation, according to Lewis.
“Reliable information is often behind a paywall while bad information is often free,” he noted.
However, as fast as AI is adapting, so is the world.
Through “information inoculation,” students are learning to be more proactive and less vulnerable to false information and media manipulation, according to Lewis.
This year, the Gunston School specifically has set a multi-year goal to evaluate and upgrade its approach to civic learning and civic education to help students better understand AI, he said.
Lewis teaches Advanced Placement U.S. Government and has adapted his homework assignments to combat AI’s ability to write term papers, he said.
Although scary and uncertain, like the internet, AI has opened doors into new perspectives and benefits including modern medicine.
Lewis strongly advocated for always researching before sharing information.
“The takeaway is how powerful this really is,” he said.
While future technology may be less than uncertain, the dedication of organizations like the LWVQAC keep democracy alive and thriving in an informed community, according to Lewis.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization that works to encourage informed and active participation in government and works to increase understanding of national, state and local public policy through education and advocacy.
Currently 60 members strong, the League is active in community voter services including voter registration events and printing voter guides.
In addition to the presentation and meeting, the League offered guides on voting and governmental officials.
President Liz Hammond encouraged everyone to spread the word of the crucial importance of voting and making a difference in democracy.
“It is disheartening whenever we hear from people who say they don’t vote,” Hammond said.
More information including a quarterly newsletter can be found at https://www.lwvqac.org.
Most Popular
Comments / 0