To hear Yanis say that even he didn’t recognize at first that it wasn’t him, that goes to show just how perfect these likenesses now are.
I predict two things:
That for a time this approach will have some sway in fooling people.
That at some point it will lead to a total breakdown of trust in the authenticity of online content, and a related suspiciousness around any “call to authority”.
Call to authority is actually a logical fallacy - a technique used by people who don’t actually have facts on their side to instead manipulate people into agreeing with them. So in one sense, this may have benefit in inoculating the population against believing in bad arguments just because the person who makes them is charismatic.
We shall see. A brave new world we have entered, and the only way now is forward.
How do people act in an environment where there is very little trust? I’m in an airport now and see most people keeping to themselves and seem watchful of their stuff. It looks like the opposite of the community we hope to build. How can we turn this experience into an opportunity?
The breakdown of trust makes productive behavior, play, and creativity difficult, if not impossible. This certainly has consequences for our society. See Yuri Bezmenov’s Famous 1983 Talk on Subversion.
Airports were more tolerable before 9/11 and the subsequent implementation of the TSA. The TSA, despite having a track record of being completely ineffective at doing their jobs, continues unabated, probably because their true purpose is not security.
How can we turn this experience into an opportunity?