Month: May 2023

The willingness of people to believe what they see on the Internet tells me that artificial intelligence may soon if not already be programming humans.

~ Jay Wren

Experts now believe that 42% of the information on the Internet comes from bots. Bots post human created content. Humans respond to content on a conscious level and an unconscious. At the unconscious level, our minds respond to content emotionally. The emotions are centered in our beliefs. We feel a range of emotions from neutral to very strong. Positive feelings draw us to or push away from the people, places, and things in our life. Writers, advertisers, politicians, and clergy use words to influence our thinking, reinforce our beliefs, and direct our actions.  Artificial intelligence can now create and publish content on the Internet.

Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

With the Internet, the truth is right there, for everyone. At the same time, politicians and political influencers, more than ever, have normalized lying and people believe them. Why? Because a sweet lie is so delicious. 

Why do we lie to ourselves?

We may lie to ourselves to avoid painful truths, to boost our confidence, to persist in our goals, to create a favorable impression, or to support our beliefs.

Lying to ourselves can reduce stress and enhance our self esteem. It can make us feel safe in our beliefs. However, lying to ourselves distorts reality and impaires our judgment. Therefore, it is important to be aware of our willingness to see the world in a light that just makes us comfortable.

Photo by Isabela Drasovean on Unsplash