Reality is breaking down

Zoom demonstrated a new feature that lets you generate a video “clone” of yourself that you can manipulate with text commands. I guess if you’re not feeling your best some day, you can stay in bed and let your clone do all the talking.

You might have seen that realistic (but fake) photo of a distressed child holding a puppy in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Lars Daniel, a security expert, writes in Forbes (archive) about the potential bad consequences on relief efforts when people start to belief those fake images.

One problem is desensitization. As we become overwhelmed by these shocking images, many of us will simply stop believing what we see—even when a real image demands that we pay attention.