Former US president Barack Obama warned of the truth-warping dangers of artificial intelligence and polarised media, and took a swipe at News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch.
He also praised Sydney as “one of the world’s great cities” but said he didn't swim in the ocean at Manly this week as the water looked a little cold, especially compared to his native Hawaii where he'd just been.
“To preserve democracies we are going to have to spend a lot more time figuring out how are we educating our kids to sort out the differences between fact, opinion, falsehood, what looks real but isn’t. We’re going to have to train our brains to catch up to these new technologies.”Credit:Obama noted it was always challenging for individuals and society to adapt to significant leaps in communication technology, such as the printing press, radio and film.
“He perfected what is a broader trend ... it’s now a Wild West and a splintering of media. In America, it’s, here I guess it’s Sky. If all you are doing is watching one source of news – and by the way, in America you’re seeing that progressives say ‘Well, we’re going to have our own news and our own perspective’ – you no longer have a joint conversation and a shared story.
“There was a little bit too much arrogance about free markets and free trade, and anybody who’s questioning jobs being moved offshore, they’re backwards looking, and ‘everybody’s going to be a coder some day’,” he said.
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