SYNOPSIS
Hamish Macdonald wants to know what happens if we lose our faith in facts. We are all navigating a digital ecosystem where truth and lies can be indistinguishable, and where information is created — at scale — to change what we believe, how we behave and who we vote for. Too many of us are reporting that we don’t believe anything — or anyone.
To understand why we’re so susceptible to being tricked and scammed with falsehoods, Hamish offers up his own brain. He explores what makes us especially vulnerable to the algorithms of social media which can so effectively land us in echo chambers, where we refuse to consider alternate views. Ten participants join the ride, taking part in a series of social experiments which demonstrate that all of us, no matter how digitally literate, are failing to recognise the difference between true and false.
Hamish travels the world to better understand how the march of disinformation is putting holes in our democracies. On the Polish/Belarus border he discovers the human face of a ‘hybrid threat’ and in the Philippines, he meets the new agenda setters ‘reporting’ on the Nation’s ‘free and fair’ elections.
Then Hamish heads into the most thrilling and dangerous of all frontiers — where AI is beginning to reshape our images, our communication systems, and the way we interact. From AI psychosis to AI powered disinformation campaigns, Hamish delves into what this technological revolution can do and why so many people believe it’s the most perilous of all human inventions. It’s reckless not to tune in!
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Commissioned by the ABC. A Northern Pictures production. Presented and produced by Hamish Macdonald. Directed and written by Tosca Looby. Executive Producer: Karina Holden. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julie Hanna. ABC Head Documentary and Specialist: Susie Jones. Distribution by ABC Commercial.