Opinion

Perils of uncontrolled exposure: conclusions and way forward

The first perfunctory observation is that SM is Janus-faced with good and bad sides of exposure

Inam Ul Haque May 23, 2024

The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. He can be reached at tayyarinam@hotmail.com and tweets @20_Inam

Previously in this space, themes and broad strands that carry the current onslaught of uncontrolled exposure to social media were outlined, such as obsession with current affairs; the endemic negativity; being critical of everything without offering constructive alternatives; individual complexes, not objectivity and rationality, driving the discourse; effects of availability of a platform and audience for all, and finally; AI manipulating SMN. This piece will draw some broad conclusions and discuss whether humanity would be able to internalise this wave of technology without losing its humanness.

The first perfunctory observation is that SM is Janus-faced with good and bad sides of exposure. Like all things human, growing up is a tedious process shaped by parents, siblings, peers and the environment. This entire process has checks and balances in the form of parents, elders, teachers and broader societal forces. Human beings are tutored, guided and mentored all along. Replacing this time-tested process with SM’s inappropriate and over-exposure, mostly unguided, has its own pitfall.

For example, early exposure to pornography, which today constitutes one-third content on the internet (the other two being ‘infotainment’ and ‘gaming’). Premature exposure may affect studies in formative years, dissipating focus and concentration. Even adult exposure to some content through the dark web may be deeply unsettling, socially and morally unacceptable, and outright illegal.

Secondly, universal education and learning about anything under the sun is now pervasive, and inexpensively possible. Be it the side-effects of some medicine; or information about a leader, an era, or an event in history; or theories of philosophy or anything in sciences, you have it on the fingertips through an inexpensive smartphone. Although AI is increasingly addressing the accuracy issues with the content, the broader concern is that SM has begun to overtake teachers, professionals like doctors, and cohort, making places of learning redundant in most cases.

Thirdly, this wave of ubiquitous and uncontrolled SM exposure is redefining social relations like never before. There is a paradigm shift in human learning and experiences, affecting and redefining intra-human sociology. Picture a family before an evening meal with all glued to their cellphones, surfing the virtual world rather than the real physical world. It is creating perceptive distance between family members sharing a roof, and a gulf between these human bots, and the not so IT/SM-savvy humanity. Today, humans seek friendship with AI-generated avatars and chatbots, transforming human sociability. What would be its effects on society, and where would this wave end, if at all. Will humanity be able to internalise this smartphone-generated SM deluge like all technological waves before it, the jury is still out.

Fourthly, big data is today more powerful than established governance mechanisms. Analytica of all kinds drives corporate world and international governance. Governments rely on SMN, like X (former Twitter), WhatsApp, to some extent on Facebook and TikTok, to disseminate their messages…real, fake, or manipulative. Even powerful countries are at the mercy of Google and Microsoft, for example, whose assets are distributed worldwide to avoid scrutiny and punitive regulation. Big daddies like Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadell, Andy Jassy and Jim Lanzone of this world increasingly set the global agenda. Nations are still grasping to regulate AI, which would be well-nigh impossible with more time wasted. Inject some rouge actors, and humanity has a crisis like never before.

Fifthly, non-regulated AI and its increasing pervasiveness while affecting human life also affects the scale and scope of conflict and warfare. As in Gaza, a weaponised SM has broadened conflict to societal levels. This may redefine the rules of warfare alongside the implements of war. There is already movement towards declaring attacks on electrical grids, for example, as crimes against humanity, as electrical disruption affects non-combatants more than the combatants.

And lastly, the SM stranglehold on leadership. Whereas everyone today faces the challenge of keeping the perspective right while meandering through the SM deluge, leaders at the top are particularly vulnerable. Look at the fickleness of conducting SM-influenced foreign policy recently. After Bishkek rioting targeting Pakistani students, the Government fearing a domestic backlash, in a knee-jerk reaction decided to send the Deputy Prime Minister/FM-combine and another Minister, only to be embarrassingly advised otherwise by the Kyrgyz Government. Exercise of leadership under SM exposure without gut, vision, determination and intellectual robustness is almost impossible. Moreover, the role of a weaponised SM in organising these riots is a given, after circulation of manipulated content.

In the crazy world of social media, nobody is popular or stays popular forever, as tables are easily and frequently turned. Those basking in its transient glory today need to realise that it is a perceptual world representing a typical stratum, and it is not a barometer of rationality for basing decisions.

Picking responses to uncontrolled SM is equally challenging, hence some cherry-picking. First, without being reactive, we need to stem SM tide to protect young people especially from SM’s uncontrolled exposure, besides ensuring social harmony. Some regulatory controls at government level like blocking and suspending some streams as in X (Twitter); some at the big-tech level like controlling screen time, deployment of filters for unwanted content, more robust verifications, content-purges, etc; and passing some responsibility to parents, might work ‘temporarily’. In the long run its absorption of this wave of technology by humanity at large, and that is crystal-gazing.

Second, continuous education and creating more channels for propagation of authentic news, correct narratives, besides exposing falsehoods are critical. The efforts need to highlight the perils of ‘no-holds-barred freedoms’ as unchecked freedoms have costs — psychological, social, financial and emotional. Similarly, phishing, hostile, manipulative and fake sites need to be known and made known on a regular and continuous basis. Again, quality education would be the ultimate panacea.

It is admittedly a losing battle; however, efforts should be focused on ‘counter-narrative’ and ‘authenticity of information’ as ‘quickly as possible’ to make some difference. When I searched how the future looks like, Google said in 2030, we will have lightning speed internet, 6G, Wi-fi7 and satellites. Virtual and augmented reality would be the next big technology; and by 2050, there would be more integration (and hopefully peace) between quantum computing, nanotechnology, augmented reality, metaverse, human brain, AI, etc. And maybe that is the elusive absorption of this wave of technology.

Maybe. I keep my fingers crossed!

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2024.

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COMMENTS (1)

Saleem Akhtar Malik | 5 months ago | Reply On perils of uncontrolled exposure In his opinion piece dated 23 May 2024 Major General Inam Ul Haque continues his discussion on the implications of the deluge of information on society. In his previous space the writer established the parameters and postulated that the so-called social media is the vanguard symbolizing the forces of anarchy and destabilization. The general identifies six dimensions in which artificial intelligence negatively influences social media networks 1 Replacement of traditional family bonds with the fantasy world of virtual reality 2 Emergence of the do-it-yourself era of knowledge where online remedies and solutions are available for every problem under the sun. This may lead to a Terminator Complex where AI removes humans from strategic decision-making 3 A negative redefinition of relationships 4 A social media-dominated world that increasingly identifies itself with the Big Brother portrayed in George Orwell s Animal Farm 5 Weaponised SM has broadened conflict to societal levels. This may redefine the rules of warfare alongside the implements of war opines the general 6 Artificial Intelligence will cause leaders to become hostage to artificial intelligence. After identifying the six dimensions of manipulation by AI the writer asks if humanity would internalize assimilate sic this wave of technology Artificial Intelligence manipulating Social Media Networks without losing its humanness We enter the realm of science fiction If artificial intelligence is the instrument that is manipulated by social media will it ultimately remove humans from strategic decision-making This academic discussion will apply to the science and technology-driven Western civilization. We may include the beneficiary Indian Chinese and Japanese South Korean societies in the commentary. As for the Arabs Pakistanis Afghanis Bangladeshis Gambians etc we keep them out of this discussion because these are non-technological societies where producing offspring not progress is considered the major goal of life. Restructuring traditional family bonds There is nothing new in it. Societies as they transition from tribal agricultural to industrial level experience the loosening of family bonds. This happened even before the advent of social media. Blaming the deterioration of human bonds on social media is erroneous and unfair. Such deterioration redefining of relationships started in European and American societies as early as the middle of the Eighteenth Century CE when the human economy transitioned from hand production to machines. Over time advanced societies have rationalized their approach to human relationships by stressing financial independence a child attaining puberty is considered responsible enough to make his her decisions in life. Naturally a teenager should be empowered to tackle the realities of personal life. The proliferation of information and the imaginary threat from artificial intelligence Is artificial intelligence threatening human decision-making What goes for artificial intelligence is essentially the computer application of Pavlov s conditioned reflexes - A learned response performed by a human or an animal to a signal previously associated with an event of consequence for that human or animal. Artificial intelligence replaces the human or animal element e.g. dogs in Pavlov s experiments with computer software or applications. It is neither artificial nor intelligent simply a set of instructions in the computer software that respond to a given situation. It cannot think by itself. It cannot produce anything original. AI merely speeds up decision-making by utilizing the large data databank available to the decision-makers. We find ideas about robots superseding human decision-making only in science fiction movies. The TV series Small Wonder will help you grasp the essence of AI. Small Wonder is an American children s comedy that aired between 1985 and 1989. The show chronicles the family of a robotics engineer who secretly creates a robot modelled after a human girl then tries to pass it off as their adopted daughter Vicki. The robot learns through repeating the incidents in its everyday life. If there is a perceived underside to the free flow of information there also is a silver lining. The proliferation of information for example allows me to countercheck and get a second opinion through social media when I feel disturbed by my physician s diagnosis about my physical health. It also facilitates access to solutions to many problems related to every walk of life. A negative re-definition of relationships This is a corollary to the first dimension - Replacing traditional family bonds with the fantasy world of virtual reality. Whenever society re-emerges after a massive upheaval e.g. the transition from one level to the next a re-definition of relationships is in order. During the Chinese cultural revolution a Red Guard sent this sitrep to his regional office There is great chaos under the heavens and the situation is excellent The rotten fruit will fall from the branches making space for new buds to bloom. Only in a decadent and closed society does time stand still. A social media-dominated world The Animal Farm syndrome Those who have read George Orwell s Animal Farm would know the story of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal free and happy. Ultimately the rebellion is betrayed and the farm ends up in a state as bad as before under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon. The spectre of a proverbial Big Brother observing and controlling the private lives of his subjects is a real threat. This threat is more applicable to authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes than open societies. We see its application in China North Korea and Modi s India. Pegasus is a spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group. It is named after Pegasus the winged horse of Greek mythology. It is a Trojan horse computer virus that can be sent flying through the air to infect cell phones. The spyware can be covertly installed on mobile phones and other devices running most versions of iOS and Android phones. As of 2022 Pegasus could read text messages track calls collect passwords track locations access the target device s microphone and camera and collect information from apps. Pegasus was discovered in August 2016 after a failed espionage attempt led to an investigation revealing details about the spyware its abilities and the security vulnerabilities it exploited. The spyware is used to surveil anti-regime activists journalists and political leaders from several nations worldwide. Indian PM Modi s government has used Pegasus to spy on his opposition leaders union ministers journalists administrators such as India s election commissioner and minority leaders. It was reported that former PM Nawaz Sharif used Pegasus to spy on his political opponents and civil and military bureaucrats. Pegasus is classified as a weapon that on the face of it is exported to other governments only after clearance from the Israeli government. The spyware was cleared for export to the government of India after the meeting between PM Modi and the former Israeli PM Netanyahu in Israel during Modi s official visit to Israel in July 2017. In the past Israel had been stealing cutting-edge military technologies and materials not only from France Switzerland and Belgium but also from the United States. During these Israeli theft operations all these countries looked the other way while the Israelis got away with the targeted material equipment and blueprints. Peter Ostrovsky a rogue Mossad agent in his book The Other Side of Deception mentions how the United States allows Israel to steal military technology from American companies. Like many other shady Israeli companies NSO Group the Israeli front company that markets the Pegasus spyware had teamed up with Francisco Partners an American private equity firm specializing in investments in technology and technology-enabled services and processes. Weaponized SM has broadened conflict to societal levels General Inam concludes that the weaponized social media may redefine the rules of warfare alongside the implements of war . This is already taking place. Empirically there is a 50-year cycle of radical changes in warfare for military technology force structure and doctrines. After World War II the US demonstrated the next cycle in Gulf War I Airland Battle with Precision Guided Munitions PGMs cyberspace electronic and outer space warfare and advanced versions of weapon platforms. The world is now entering the next cycle of warfare dominated by AI. While the technology is expected to fully fructify by 2040-50 its early manifestations will be seen in a decade. This may redefine the rules of warfare alongside the implements of war as suggested by General Inam in his article. The evolution of AI has given birth to two new concepts Informationized and Intelligentized Warfare. Informationized warfare added three new domains cyberspace electromagnetic spectrum and outer space to the traditional land air and sea domains. It focuses on information domination deny information to the enemy for the command control and use of weapons and fully exploit it yourself. Intelligentized warfare focuses on full-spectrum exploitation of AI in all facets of military activity including intelligent weapons platforms bots autonomous weapon systems and robotic soldiers with technical support from intelligent networks cloud big data and the internet. The word intelligent implies that the military machines will have a mind of their own in application Chawla Panag 1922 . Panag 1922 wrote Optimistically we say that we are just a decade behind China in military capability but only in the land air and sea domains of war. In the cyber electromagnetic space and near-space domains we are nearly 15 years behind. How else can we explain being surprised in Eastern Ladakh China has already set goals for full-spectrum military exploitation of AI by 2027 and 2035 and we are busy touting the most fundamental of innovations as military exploitation of AI. Where does Pakistan stand Leaders become hostage to artificial intelligence The ongoing debate about the threats from social media and artificial intelligence reminds common Pakistanis about the similarities between the present situation in Pakistan and the bygone eras when Muslims were fighting for their survival against the infidels - Enemies on the borders palace intrigues prostitutes ruling the roost enemies within and a scattered and disorganized group desperately fighting a rear-guard action against the external enemy and the internal forces of reaction. In this scenario an intelligent team making imaginative use of AI acts as a force multiplier. This is how the art of warfare has shaped up in the 21st Century. REFERENCES 1. Chawla A K. 2022 . China s Strategy of Informationized and Intelligent Warfare. SPs Naval Forces. 2. Panag H.S. 2022 . China is preparing for a full-spectrum AI war. India is still 15 years behind. The Print.

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