International Thoughtcrime Syndicate

In his book Propaganda, Jacques Ellul argues that the goal of propaganda is not to spread specific messages or ideologies but rather to create a climate of conformity and compliance. The techniques used by propagandists exploit human psychological vulnerabilities and social dynamics to manufacture consent and control populations. The conditions of modern life make us more vulnerable to propaganda and mass media technologies enhance the effectiveness of these techniques. We'll discuss the role of propaganda in modern society and the questions it raises about the nature of power, authority and individual autonomy.

No need to read the whole book, here's an excellent summary:

Digital technology and social media allow us to find and share information at an unprecedented scale. While this technology can benefit us in countless ways it might also enable bad actors to cause harm at an unprecedented scale. Increasingly the US government is placing limits on digital technology such as banning TikTok and the executive order limiting AI models to 100 million billion billion operations. The justification for these actions is that information itself can be hazardous.

In his 2011 paper philosopher Nick Bostrom defines information hazards as pieces of information that when disseminated can cause harm or increase risks. These include security risks, health risks, social or political risks, psychological risks, and existential risks. Strategies to mitigate information hazards include responsible information sharing, cybersecurity, digital literacy, fact-checking and ethical decision-making in media. However addressing information hazards requires navigating the complex tradeoffs between individual rights like free speech and collective well-being and safety.

At this event we'll be discussing Bostrom's original paper: