FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions
Perry Carpenter
Wiley (October 2024)
How human and artificial intelligence — working together– can produce transformative results
In the Foreword, Rachel Tobac helps to”set the table” for this brief commentary: “The attacks that AI can create now are mind-boggling. We’re way past the point where most folks can tell the difference between what’s real and what’s machine-made. Photos, videos, voices, text — AI can fake it all. And it’s not just some party trick. This has huge implications for personal relationships and even global politics — the very fabric of how humans trust each other!”
According to Perry Carpenter, “When human intelligence and artificial intelligence work together, the results can be transformative. But when they’re pitted against each other, the consequences can be dire. As we’ll see in the coming chapters, bad actors are already using AI to exploit human vulnerability to deceive and manipulate on a massive scale.
“This is the tale of two intelligences, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. To navigate this new landscape safely, we need to understand both sides of the story. We need to know how to leverage the power of AI while also protecting ourselves from its potential abuses.
“That’s where this book comes in. In the pages that follow, we’ll explore the unchanging truths about human and artificial intelligence. We’ll grapple with the challenges posed by their rapid convergence. And we’ll arm ourselves with knowledge and strategies to thrive in the new area. So buckle up and get ready for a journey into the heart of the AI revolution. The future is here, and it’s up to us to shape it.”
These are the passages in FAIK of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to suggest the nature and scope of Carpenter’s coverage.:
o Introduction (Pages xi-xx)
o The Digital Age: A New Era of Deception (5-11)
o Cognitive Security 101: Protecting Our Minds in the Digital Age (13-14)
o Brief History of AI Advances (19-30)
o The Breakthrough Moment: How Attention Changed Everything (40-42)
o Deceptionology 101: Introduction to the Dark Arts (43-53)
o HallucInations: AI’s Double-Edged Sword of Creativity (61-64)
o AI’s Ghost in the Wires and the Future of the Internet (74-75)
o Lies, Darn Lies, and the Internet (80-87)
o On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog (100-104)
o Breaking Bad: How Bad Actors Can Corrupt the Morals of the AI System (110-125)
o Weaponizing Innocent Outputs (128-131)
o The Pillars of Deception, Scams, and Crime (138-141)
o AI-Powered Scams: Old Tricks, New Tools (141-145)
o Chapter 10: A New Hope (146-152)
o The Fight for Truth (159-163)
o Media Literacy in the Digital Age: Your Survival Guide to the Information Jungle (165-172)
o The Fact-Checking Paradox: Seeking Truth in a World of Lies (172-183)
o Building Our Cognitive Defenses (189-197)
o Chapter 10: A New Hope ((217-232)
Yes, that’s right: ALL of the last chapter….The material is brilliant. Indeed, so is the entire book. Bravo!
Reading FAIK with appropriate care will help prepare you to uncover the mental ploys used by those who seek to deceive, and — even more importantly — you’ll discover how to fortify your mind against them. “Together, we’ll see that even in this age of artificial intelligence, our greatest asset is our human intelligence.”
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Here are two suggestions while you are reading FAIK: First, highlight key passages Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines).
These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.