Philosophy class: It’s only a matter of time before disinformation leads to disaster
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.
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Specification:
Epistemology
Click the link below to read the article and then answer the questions:
It’s only a matter of time before disinformation leads to disaster
Tim Harford writes that “we instinctively feel that some stuff is too good to check. And so we’ll accept lies that really should give us pause.” Is our readiness to believe in falsehood instinctive? Is there something in human nature that leads us to believing false information too easily? Can developing reasoning skills help?
“What is the deeper problem, people falling for malicious nonsense, or people refusing to believe carefully reported journalism?” What do you think? Can we be too sceptical? Will the amount of deepfakes and other faked information lead to a crisis in trust?
Do you think there is too much panic about deepfakes? Will people adjust and figure out ways to avoid being deceived, or will we develop new technologies to help weed out fake information?
Beyond digital media, do you think there is too much deception in public life? What is the relationship between trust, truthfulness and justice?
Jack Robertson, Queen Elizabeth’s School
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