Author: Alberta Koomson

Who I want to be on the web is very important and I have taken some time this past week despite the tight work, school and family life schedule to think through who I want to become on the web. I have been thinking through some key questions like who am I in real life?  I have been asking colleagues who know me very well at work, church and community organizations some of the way they would characterize me. This is because the way they know me in real life should be the same way they should know me on the web.

Who am I in real life to my colleagues and community?

Who am I in real life to colleagues? Colleagues know me as very observant and introverted. I am very careful but hard working, proactive and do not rush into taking decisions or actions. I like helping people and volunteering for community services. I like family values and principles that help with a cohesive family. I have experience in raising a family and have counselled and trained others in family leadership. I also like giving advice to others and helping them handle conflicts in relationships. If this is how colleagues know me then I could allocate some time to help my community and colleagues with my website posts.

Who do I hope to be on the web?

I would like to maintain the same image I have in real life and not a different image online, because I want to portray who I am in real life on the web. Character speaks volume, and my web identity matter. People should relate to me in a way that reflects the real me online and not a different person. According to an article on Social Media: Online Persona by Dickinson University, maintaining the same identity  in real life and on the web would help to validate my identity, associate my virtual identity with real life identity and help my colleagues and community to understand me more “holistically”.

Why I chose the StarBeth domain name

I chose my domain name StarBeth because it has my first name, and I love seeing stars in the sky on a clear night. Stars point me to how far we could go. No limits to benefits I could provide to colleagues on the web. I would like to share my thoughts and experience in family leadership. For example, how to assume different roles in the family. How to create and maintain a strong family. How to resolve family conflicts, How to discuss and come up with family values that would be of value in the workplace, school, market place and make one a good citizen. I would like to share these family leadership issues and topics with the people I relate with online just as I do in real life by offering relevant insights, counseling, connecting them with books, audios and youtube, tiktok etc materials on family leadership, relationships and family life. I also plan to use my site to document my cooking hobby, to do some online shopping, and to connect with others that have similar interests. I am glad this course has provided me with the skill to transfer the benefits that I have been providing in real life to colleagues and my community on the web too.

I got my photo from Stars: Facts about stellar formation, history and classification

When people spread information that they know is not true on the web this is disinformation. Because some people do not ask questions or find out the truth about the disinformation, they become vulnerable and believe in the disinformation. When such people also spread lies, they think is true this leads to misinformation on the web. Disinformation and misinformation have therefore become common on the web and “fake news” is everywhere on the social media.

What are the reasons for false and inaccurate information on the web?

There are many reasons people spread disinformation and misinformation. Sometimes because people want to be popular on the internet they spread lies to a particular group of people they think will believe those lies. Because such people are vulnerable and do not check how accurate that information is, they help those seeking to be popular on the web to reach more people with their lies to make them more popular.

The second reason is the use of lies and false information as a strategy to be competitive on the web. They may spread lies that could appeal to the beliefs, emotions and prejudice of the group in order to get their attention and loyalty as followers.

The other reason is that, there is currently no effective system and regulations to detect and control fake news. There are also benefits and incentives which prevent the users and authorities to control fake news on the web. The Pew Research Center interviewed several experts on The Future of Truth and Misinformation Online. According to Jason Hong, associate professor at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, “There are a lot of rich and unethical people, politicians, non-state actors and state actors who are strongly incentivized to get fake information out there to serve their selfish purposes.” Scott Shamp, a dean at Florida State University, also think that, “Too many groups gain power through the proliferation of inaccurate or misleading information. When there is value in misinformation, it will rule.” This presents a real challenge for controlling false information on the web.

What are some impact of AI on misinformation and disinformation on the web

Taylor McNeil said in an article How Misinformation and Disinformation Spread, the Role of AI, and How We Can Guard Against Them that “there’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there, and AI makes it easier than ever to create content out of thin air”. AI could have a positive role to detect, filter and control disinformation and misinformation on the web but cannot detect every information that is false. AI uses mathematical algorithms to analyze large amounts of data, so sometimes produce and spread false information. Because of its speed of processing and distributing information AI can also help people to create and spread false information faster. This has become a real threat to promoting accurate and factual information on the web that could create change historical facts, racist attacks, civil unrest, and distrust in internet information.

You
Sent by you:
generate a title about misinformation and disinformation of AI
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Certainly! Here are some potential titles related to misinformation and disinformation in the context of artificial intelligence (AI):

“The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Disinformation”
This title highlights how AI systems contribute to the disinformation phenomenon by creating realistic AI-generated fake content and facilitating its dissemination to targeted audiences1.
“AI Amplifies Misinformation: Threats and Challenges”
This title emphasizes how AI’s widespread adoption is posing risks to democratic processes, civil unrest, and growing distrust of media and government sources due to misinformation and disinformation2.
“Navigating the AI Minefield: Disinformation Challenges”
This title underscores the need to address the misuse of generative AI technologies, including deepfakes and synthetic content, which exacerbate the disinformation problem2

The reason why I chose this title is because disinformation and misinformation were common even before the internet and social media. But AI has made it worse on the internet. Forms of information used by AI can sometimes lead to misinformation or inaccurate news. AI can amplify false information on the web that can cause threats to society by those who may use the false information.

Source: Image generated by copilot

Openness:

Why?

The web is open place where technology and interaction occur. The web is where by eliminating barriers that restrict other people.

How?

Openness help to achieve collaboration and communicate through other sites. It also allow users to access resources and to connect to other network

Accessibility:

Why?

Accessibility help reach broader audience. It improve web site and also help with innovation and technology. It ensure that everyone has access to it use which include people with disabilities.

How?

We use the content more accessible including details of images, photo, text, videos, subtitles and many more. Images descriptions and descriptive link text 5 benefits of using a web accessibility overlay