Wanna see something scary?
A post on X has been wandering the internetscapes recently, showcasing the power of AI on social media. Specifically how the older generations while scrolling on Facebook are met with AI-generated images, but don’t seem to notice that it’s actually AI. Actually, they don’t seem to notice even if it’s blatantly marked as such.
More Info: X
The rise of AI tech has definitely brought up some challenges for regular internet users due to its power of being so darned believable
So much, in fact, that older generations seem to not even be noticing how their feeds are hijacked by AI, as pointed out by this AI investment partner
Justine Moore posted an X thread pointing out how elderly people seem to be not noticing the fact that they’re engaging with AI content
Recently, AI investment partner Justine Moore recently took to X (formerly Twitter, but you probably already know that by now) to show a bit of a mind-truck all things considered.
Her post thread includes AI-generated pictures that were posted on Facebook along with screencaps of the comment section. In said comment section, we see a bunch of elderly people praising how beautiful, stunning or cute the pictures are without seemingly understanding that all of these are AI-generated.
“Facebook has turned into an endless scroll of AI photos and the older gens don’t appear to have noticed,” noted Justine in her first post. This was followed by another post with a picture of an adorable dog and kid in ski attire going down a mountain where it was kinda obvious that it was AI-generated, yet the comment section was all the same—“adorable,” the comments said.
Heck, even adding an “AI” tag to the description didn’t help, because who needs to read these days, right?! In all seriousness, this does point to an issue worth tackling, and that is AI awareness and literacy.
The content doesn’t even have to make sense, actually, as long as it makes them happy
Heck, even a warning sign is not enough
Just think about it: not everything on the web is actually real. What makes you think folks won’t use AI to make fake things look more believable? That’s how scams work. That’s how hacking works. So, why not?
In fact, some of the comments under the thread pointed out that there is a high chance that the folks in the comment sections under each of these pictures might be bots themselves. The signs are definitely there—identical, short and vague responses, misspellings or grammatical issues, and the like.
But this doesn’t negate the fact that there is a non-zero chance of actual elderly folk being among those commenting and believing the content. Heck, you needn’t even comment—if you scroll across a picture and even think about it is enough for AI to have done its job.
And considering that people over the age of 65 are the least computer literate of all the age groups, it should be concerning. So, call your parents, let them know those pictures are fake.
The post itself went viral with 9.2M views, but it was also reshared on AI-focused media, too
For those who need specifics, back in 2021, 61%, 45% and 44% of people over 65 owned a smartphone, used social media and owned a tablet computer respectively. 8% of them reported that they are almost constantly online. But compared to all other age groups, they are always last.
That same study, though, is shedding some positive light on the matter as the 2021 data actually shows that the percentage was the highest it’s ever been. From 2012 to 2021, smartphone ownership among sixty-fivers and up grew from 13 to 61% and the use of social media grew from 16 to 45%. So, more and more older folks are getting on board the computer train.
But that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily aware of the powers of AI. And considering their statistically inferior experience with computers in general, AI-focused education is a must. So, again, call your parents!
So, considering all that you’ve read, what are your thoughts on any of this? Is AI your friend or would you rather live in a world where it would never exist? Share your thoughts and takes in the comment section below!
A number of commenters pointed out that the elderly people commenting under the AI posts are also bots
Still, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there’s always a non-zero chance of actual elderly people falling for it
