A.I./Technology

Deception in the Future

World leaders attempt to move the masses. Especially business moguls, corporations, and politicians–it is essentially their responsibility. As technology progresses and society grows increasingly competitive, more science becomes applied. Breakthroughs in applied science regarding influence on people’s minds (deception) have been the key to major changes throughout history, especially in these past 2 centuries (20 and 21st). 

In 1452, the technological breakthrough of the printing press would significantly change Europe and the rest of the world. That year, the printing press’s creator, Johannes Gutenberg, produced one book for his shop with his invention and that was the Gutenberg Bible. “In 1452, Gutenberg produced the one book to come out of his shop: a Bible.” (History 6). Up until now, most Europeans’ understanding of Biblical stories were from illustrations, stained windows, and plays, but with copies of the Bible being printed, religious awareness would spread and ultimately lead to separate branches of Christianity forming. The printing press also allowed for education and propaganda to flourish, which carved the path for modern media.

Propaganda played a large role in WW1 and WW2, and many wars since. Whether in the form of posters, radios, newspapers, or television, all have had a significant impact on society. The most impactful technological breakthrough may have been applied psychology. Thomas Jefferson said, “ …that man was a rational animal, endowed by nature with rights, and with an innate sense of justice, and that he could be restrained from wrong, & protected in right, by moderate powers, confided to persons of his own choice, and held to their duties by dependance on his own will.” (National Archives). It was this breakthrough in philosophy that led to Democracy. 

Applied science also impacted WW2, as Hitler and the Nazi Regime applied psychological and sociological sciences to their nation; “‘All effective propaganda,’ Hitler wrote, ‘must be confined to a few bare necessities and then must be expressed in a few stereotyped formulas.’ These stereotyped for­mulas must be constantly repeated, for ‘only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea upon the memory of a crowd.’” (Huxley 5). Hitler utilized the people of Germany’s passion through repetitive non-rational propaganda.

Recent applied sciences range widely, from simple behavioral sciences to borderline conspiracy theories such as applied chemical persuasion or subconscious persuasion. An example is social media; The subconscious effects of social media may be lower attention span, sleep disruption, increased living and physical standards, fear of missing out, and general change in perception of the world. This is a form of applied science because reports came out that the social media company, TikTok, includes mostly ‘brain rot’ content in American algorithms while including mostly educational content in Chinese algorithms. “The algorithm is vastly different, promoting science, educational and historical content in China while making our citizens watch stupid dance videos with the main goal of making us imbeciles,” (Schlott 4). This is nothing short of a modern siege on America’s youth; China applying science to stunt the growth of Americans. “Social media has gone from techno-utopianism to dystopic weaponization.” (Dimsdale 6).

The conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 vaccine had severe side effects (such as autism), or that there were other intentions behind them, were popular in 2020, and still, somewhat are. Not saying this is true, but if it were, this would be an example of possible chemical persuasion. There are also conspiracy theories that fast food, such as McDonald’s, includes chemicals that lower men’s testosterone. This, also, if true, would be an example of chemical persuasion. Another possible example is prescription medication. Drug abuse has been an increasingly severe issue in the USA, with 12% (2 million people) of all patients who take prescription pain medication being addicted, Opioids and painkillers being the most abused drugs. (NCDAS). Whether there are specific intentions behind these possible chemical persuasions would fall under deep conspiracy theory, however, this displays that the utilization of applied sciences with the goal of altering people’s minds is possible, and can be most effective. 

Developments in deceptive tactics, such as chemical persuasion, subconscious persuasion, hypnopaedia, and brainwashing, will significantly impact the future, as it has proven to in the past. Subconscious persuasion in the form of subliminal messages that invoke emotions and stimulate the mind, even to the extent of chemical imbalance, have been applied repeatedly in product advertisements since the 50’s. The film company, Disney, is known for including subliminal messages in their movies. One example is in the film, DuckTales, there is a scene with an eye chart in the background that subtly reads, “ASK ABOUT ILLUMINATI”. Also in the movie, Aladdin, there is a scene where Aladdin subtly whispers something in between scenes, that sounds like, “Good teenagers, take off your clothes.” (Onyango 3). Disney has also been criticized for subconsciously promoting prejudice, unrealistic physique standards, and anti-government ideologies.

So, what does the future hold? Once world leaders figure out an effective way to utilize AI to influence the masses, if not already done so, then implemented AI may be the next technological breakthrough. Also, nanotechnology, or any form of merging man with machine. This could lead to complete control over humans, similar to the digital slavery I mentioned in my week 2 essay. Technology may shift humans in a direction that we become the most productive versions of ourselves when completely immobilized; “Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which plans to give paralyzed patients the power to work computers with their minds, are focused on assistive applications. Others have broader plans: Facebook wants people to text by imaging the words, and Brian Johnson’s Kernel hopes to enhance cognitive abilities.” (McDermott-Murphy 18). 

There are still developments needed for advanced neural technologies to be applied at large scale. “Mesh electronics still have several major challenges to overcome: scaling up the number of implanted electrodes, processing the data flood those implants deliver, and feeding that information back into the system to enable live recalibration.” (McDermott-Murphy 21). I think current technologies should be enjoyed, but not abused, as they will eventually be replaced by advanced technologies, and advanced technologies should be welcomed, as it is natural they will replace the old.

Works Cited

McDermott-Murphy, Caitlin. “The Future of Mind Control”. Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. 4 Sep 2019. https://chemistry.harvard.edu/news/future-mind-control

Huxley, Aldous. “Brave New World Revisited”. Huxley.net. 1958. https://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/index.html

Onyango, Wilbroda. “The Top 10 Disney Subliminal Messages that Went Over Your Head.” Legit. 28 Aug 2022. https://www.legit.ng/ask-legit/top/1486172-top-10-disney-subliminal-messages-head/

“Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics”. NCDAS. 2024. https://drugabusestatistics.org/prescription-drug-abuse-statistics/

Schlott, Rikki. “China is Hurting Our Kids with TikTok but protecting its own with Douyin.” New York Post. 25 Feb 2023. https://nypost.com/2023/02/25/china-is-hurting-us-kids-with-tiktok-but-protecting-its-own/

“From Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 12 June 1823”. National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-3562#:~:text=we%20believed%20with%20them%20that,own%20will%E2%80%94we%20believe%20that