A Truth & Consequence Of Putting Lipstick On A Pig

Between the years 1940 to 1988, there was a popular American game show called Truth or Consequences. Contestants who didn’t answer the show’s questions correctly would have to face the consequence of performing a silly stunt that would send the audience into uproarious laughter.

Today, the words “truth” or “consequence” are unwelcome thorns in the side of our nation’s political, judicial, and corporate leaders. Sidestepping the truth is not only less risky, it’s profitable. Since artificial intelligence can now repurpose or hide any truth for any nefarious ends, neither “truth” nor “consequence” stand a chance of remaining relevant or even useful terms with which to anchor the pillars of democracy.

As we move toward a zero-trust society, we should remember that lies have hurtful and even deadly consequences. As we accept this radical, new normal, we should also understand that facts will no longer matter, nor will tangible evidence in crime scenes. It can always be said the evidence was artificially generated.

This past week, conservative radio show host, Mark Kaye, admitted he artificially generated a fake image of an elated Donald Trump surrounded by a flock of admiring black people, and posted it on social media for his 1 million Facebook followers to see. His intent was to spread a lie, knowing that a picture is worth a thousand votes, or perhaps a million among black viewers.

Manipulation in politics is not new, but AI’s power is. Kaye put a big lie out there to hold even more voters captive to a soiled, erratic candidate who appears messianic only in the shadowy distortions of one’s wild imagination—sort of like programmable sex dolls that appear real and hot enough to satisfy the fantasies of their owners.

Illusions have long been a seductive, inherent feature in American culture. We all want our magic cure. Whether we fall for the miracle cream that will magically lift our face or the preacher’s "miraculous" healing slap on the head to cure our ailments, we are all susceptible to lies because we need the hope they promise. But when we hitch our wagon to a pack of political lies that are proven to be false wherever they’ve been debated, then we must consider we no longer live in reality.

If truth doesn’t matter, if it’s that easy to walk away from it, then justice will no longer matter, and the guardrails that make societies whole and safe will cease to exist.