Can we believe our own eyes and ears anymore?
That’s not a paranoid warning. It’s happening right now. Earlier this year, New Hampshire voters received a robocall featuring President Joe Biden’s cloned voice telling Democrats to stay home from the primary. The call was so convincing that the FCC had to step in and launch an investigation.
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The implications should terrify every American. In the courtroom, a “video” could show you committing a crime you never committed. In politics, a fabricated audio clip could “prove” a candidate said something racist or treasonous, and by the time the clip is debunked, the election could already be decided. In journalism, an AI-generated whistleblower video could spark international crises before anyone has time to authenticate it.
We’ve already seen celebrities targeted by this technology. Taylor Swift was victimized by AI-generated pornography so realistic that it forced public outcry and legislative action. Even European royalty hasn’t been immune, with Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands targeted in fabricated pornographic images that prompted law enforcement intervention. And the public is inundated daily with fake videos of health experts promoting miracle cures — like a recent deepfake of Dr. Michael Mosley endorsing products he never touched. If AI can erase the line between truth and fabrication for pop culture and scams, why would we think elections, journalism, and justice are immune?
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The biggest danger isn’t just that people will believe the lies, it’s that people will stop believing the truth. Once enough fake content floods the system, even authentic pieces of evidence will be dismissed as “probably AI.” We are hurtling toward a post-truth society where reality itself can be rewritten on demand.
So what do we do?
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If we fail, the cost will be catastrophic. Elections will become untrustworthy. Journalism will collapse into chaos. Courts will no longer be able to rely on video or audio as evidence. And once trust is gone, freedom goes with it.
Immense power is on the line. Bad actors will resort to using any trick, including AI. Unless we act now, the Deep State, foreign adversaries, and corrupt elites won’t even need real scandals to destroy their enemies. They’ll be able to fabricate reality itself. And when that happens, the truth won’t just be censored. It will be erased.