Facts, it seems, aren’t what they used to be.
The 20th century American comedian Groucho Marx famously said: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.” It is a sentiment that is said to predate him. But if we jump forward to the 2020s, we might be forgiven for reinterpreting the phrase to be about "facts". It seems that facts are no longer seen as sacrosanct, nor worth preserving as a principle.
Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of tech giant Meta that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, among others, said his company is doing away with fact checkers for Facebook and moving to the model of "community notes" used by fellow tech owner Elon Musk at X, formerly Twitter.
I don’t need to rehash the discussions from recent years about how social media has been warped by fake news, misinformation and disinformation. Nor the debates about whether we are now in a post-truth era. Even less about how the echo chambers created by algorithms hungry for engagement drive tribalism – not just online but offline too, and society fracturing into seemingly unbridgeable tribes.
It feels unnecessary to pose the question in a newspaper column, but isn’t it foundational that we accept that some things are not conjecture?
The irony of writing an opinion piece about facts is not lost on me, but when there are no shared facts, or newsworthy reliable sources, what do we do? Do we end up living in a real-world equivalent of shouty people who tell us something is true just because they received a WhatsApp message? Are we to assume that any kind of information we receive is a fact?
Every wave of scientific discovery is founded on facts. So I only pick the Renaissance and Enlightenment to contrast with the recent western announcements that facts are no longer the "in" thing.
There are consequences to such developments. Some of these are of a much more long-term nature and that should concern us all.
It is namely this. If digital inputs that are being increasingly used to develop AI are free of facts, what will that do to the knowledge created, and to its proliferation into every part of our knowledge and societal ecosystems?
If we dilute all the knowledge in the world, a lot will be undone, and the price will be paid by coming generations
The real-world impact of AI’s biases are well documented: everything from wrongful jail convictions based on poor AI facial recognition, to rejections from job interviews because the AI recruiter deems you don’t match a pre-existing notion of someone who can do a particular job satisfactorily.
Artificial intelligence is driving a change in the way knowledge is processed, produced and used in the world around us. It is widely acknowledged that it contains biases – after all its inputs originate from an already biased world. And those biases are exacerbated by the biases of the people building the models, rules and applications.
But what happens if the real world is polluted with information that is not fact? Already we’re not able to deal with the biases that exist in the world. But we are entering a time where the guardrails on facts are being taken down at the very moment that the knowledge being fed into these systems is informing young people and defining their views and beliefs. This could very likely hold true for generations. It is one reason why the flippancy with which facts are treated should be seen as deeply dangerous.
There’s an argument for "offline" real world knowledge, such as that found in books. But that can't spread at the same speed as AI, nor have the reach and implications across the systems that run the world.
I may recall checking encyclopaedias to complete my homework, but for younger people, born surrounded by constant internet and content, access to high quality "knowledge" has been replaced by the need to gather as much information as possible, from what can often be dubious websites.
When internet access and in particular social media emerged, the great hope was that it would be a means to democratise access to knowledge, enable being heard, and add to knowledge from new sources. This democratisation was subverted by algorithms and the opinions which caught their attention and turned those opinions into what are often taken to be facts.
If at this moment we dilute all the knowledge in the world, that has taken centuries to accumulate, a lot will be undone, and the price will be paid by coming generations. Facts matter. Otherwise what will the knowledge legacy be that we leave for our children and grandchildren?
Zayed Sustainability Prize
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
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• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
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Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
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