A Next Big Idea Club "Must Read" for December 2023
 
  As all aspects of our social and informational lives increasingly migrate online, the line between what is "real" and what is digitally fabricated grows ever thinner—and that fake content has undeniable real-world consequences. A History of Fake Things on the Internet takes the long view of how advances in technology brought us to the point where faked texts, images, and video content are nearly indistinguishable from what is authentic or true.
  Computer scientist Walter J. Scheirer takes a deep dive into the origins of fake news, conspiracy theories, reports of the paranormal, and other deviations from reality that have become part of mainstream culture, from image manipulation in the nineteenth-century darkroom to the literary stylings of large language models like ChatGPT. Scheirer investigates the origins of Internet fakes, from early hoaxes that traversed the globe via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), USENET, and a new messaging technology called email, to today's hyperrealistic, AI-generated Deepfakes. An expert in machine learning and recognition, Scheirer breaks down the technical advances that made new developments in digital deception possible, and shares behind-the-screens details of early Internet-era pranks that have become touchstones of hacker lore. His story introduces us to the visionaries and mischief-makers who first deployed digital fakery and continue to influence how digital manipulation works—and doesn't—today: computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. Ultimately, Scheirer argues that problems associated with fake content are not intrinsic properties of the content itself, but rather stem from human behavior, demonstrating our capacity for both creativity and destruction.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Walter J. Scheirer is the Dennis O. Doughty Collegiate Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame.
Key Selling Points
Obvious media interest - concern over "fake news" and information manipulation is not abating, and will only grow now that the Trump Administration has dissolved entities responsible for combatting cyber attacks and influence operations
Covers the full history of "information technology" - not exclusively focused on Deepfakes or AI, Scheirer begins his analysis with the invention of photography
Backed by critical experience - Scheirer, a respected computer scientist, is an active member of the media forensics, information security, and AI communities
Humanistic approach - Scheirer focuses on users as much as on their tools, acknowledging that human behavior is the real cause for concern
Practical guidance - offers practical recommendations on how to address risks and problems in an ethical manner
Author resides in Notre Dame, IN.