A History of Fake Things on the Internet

by Scheirer, Walter
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ISBN: 9781503632882
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Overview

As all aspects of our social and informational lives increasingly migrate online, the line between what is "real" and what is digitally fabricated grows ever thinner--and that fake content has undeniable real-world consequences. A History of Fake Things on the Internet takes the long view of how advances in technology brought us to the point where faked information, images, and audiovisual content are nearly indistinguishable from what is authentic or true.

Computer scientist Walter J. Scheirer takes a deep dive into the origins of fake news, conspiracy theories, reports of the paranormal, and other deviations from reality that have recently become part of mainstream culture, from the 19th century darkroom to the artistic stylings of GPT-3. Scheirer investigates the origins of Internet fakes, from early hoaxes that traversed the globe via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), USENET, and a new messaging technology called email, to today's hyperrealistic, AI-generated deepfakes. His story focuses on three different visionary communities who are responsible for fashioning the way digital fakery is commonly deployed today: computer hackers, digital artists, and AI researchers. Ultimately, Scheirer argues that problems associated with fake content are not intrinsic properties of the content itself, but rather, stem from human behavior--and pose serious questions about the integrity of our democracy in the face of an information literacy deficit.

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Author: Scheirer, Walter
  • ISBN: 9781503632882
  • Condition: Used
  • Number Of Pages: 272
  • Publication Year: 2023
Language: English

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