No serious alternative to the liberal package of individualism, human rights, #democracy and a free market

 

"As of 2016 there is no serious alternative to the liberal package of individualism, human rights, democracy and a free market." from "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow" by Yuval Noah Harari)

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55min @LSENews clip - Anne Applebaum discusses her new book, Twilight of #Democracy: the failure of politics and the parting of friends

5min 49sec @theeconomist clip - Could deepfakes weaken #democracy ?

text from youtube "Videos can now be faked to make people say things they never actually said. Could this weaken democracy...and can you spot ALL the deep fake interviews in this film?

These videos are all deepfakes. Synthesised content created using artificial intelligence. Deepfakes will make for even more complicated arguments about what is fake news and what is real. And if seeing is no longer believing the very real question is could deepfakes weaken democracy?

Bill Posters is the artist behind these deepfake videos known as the Spectre Project. To test Facebook’s response, Bill posted the deepfake videos on Instagram, a social-media platform owned by Facebook. The company downgraded the videos’ visibility. But that didn’t stop this fake clip of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, going viral. That showed the potential for spreading disinformation online through deepfakes. A danger that’s likely to increase as long as tech companies and politicians remain unsure how to deal with it.

Image manipulation is already exploited by autocratic regimes. It’s a dark art that goes back to Joseph Stalin who made his enemies disappear. AI today is capable of making deepfake videos like this where comedian Bill Hader morphs into Tom Cruise. As the technology advances the danger is that deepfakes will be used to mislead voters in democratic countries.

Aviv Ovadya is the founder of Thoughtful Technology Project. He worries about another problem that deepfakes could be used as an excuse to help politicians escape scrutiny. He believes the ultimate threat from deepfakes could be that more and more people opt out of democratic politics. A phenomenon he calls “reality apathy”

So what can be done to fight back? A group of scientists at Cambridge University are having a go. They have developed a computer game to teach people how to spot disinformation. Dr Sander van der Linden, the game’s designer, believes it will help people to distinguish fact from fiction. Dr van der Linden’s team have drawn inspiration from preventative medicine in their hunt to cure fake news.

Deepfake technology means that faking videos is becoming as easy as faking words and photos. Until people learn to look at video with a more critical eye there’s a danger that deepfakes could be used to undermine democracy."

28min @theeconomist clip - How bad is the crisis in #democracy ?

1min 13sec @LSEThinks clip - How do #media 'information wars' threaten #democratic societies?

3min 19sec @theeconomist clip - Why could Brazil's democracy be under threat? |

Text from youtube "Jair Bolsonaro is the front-runner in Brazil's presidential election. If the right-wing populist wins, the survival of democracy in Latin America's largest country could be put at risk. 

Jair Bolsonaro is being called "Brazil's Donald Trump" and is the front-runner to become Brazil's next president. Were he to win it could put the very survival of democracy in Brazil at risk. 

Former president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva led the presidential race but he had been jailed on corruption charges and has since been banned from standing. Mr Bolsonaro is a right-wing populist. 

He denounces political correctness and provokes controversy. He claimed he would rather have a dead son than a gay son and would not rape a congresswoman because she was "very ugly". 

A recent assassination attempt has made him more popular. How did it come to this? 

Brazilians do not trust their politicians. An ongoing series of investigations known as lava jato exposed enormous corruption in the political class. Scores of politicians are under investigation and 12 have been convicted. 

Brazil is also coming out of the worst recession in its history. The number of murders is at a record high with 175 killings per day. 

Democracy in Brazil is young. From 1964 to 1985 Brazil had a military dictatorship - a period of the country's history Mr Bolsonaro praises. He plans to put Generals in charge of some government ministries which could lead to a more militaristic-style of government. 

Many Brazilians are disillusioned with the political establishment and believe Mr Bolsonaro's anti-establishment politics will bring about change. Brazil is in desperate need of political and economic reform. 

But Mr Bolsonaro is not the man to bring it about.

7min @thersa clip - How the Internet is Killing Democracy with Jamie Bartlett

Text from youtube "Should you really be shocked by the Facebook revelations? Author and Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Jamie Bartlett argues that our fragile political system is being threatened by the digital revolution. Watch Jamie Bartlett, bestselling author!

6min 51sec @TheRSA clip - Why We Need #Global Solidarity More Than Ever with Elif Shafak

Text from you tube "Award-winning novelist, public intellectual and political commentator Elif Shafak offers cautionary advice about the provisional nature of democracy in the west and the rise of populism – and how close we are to slipping back at any point."

2min 21sec @wef clip - when young people don't believe in democracy

Text from you tube "When young people don't believe in traditional governance, they don't participate, says OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría, which has led to some very unexpected results in the past year. He insists that the time is now to embrace multilateralism, not shy away from it."

1min 38sec #economist clip - how many countries in the world are fully #democratic ? A = 19

democracy

1945 encyclopedia britannica educational film - found via brain pickings