Really Real Reality

There’s a new book coming out entitled, The Future of Truth by Steven Rosenbaum. The description of the book, according to Google’s AI, says, “The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality by Steven Rosenbaum explores how AI is challenging traditional notions of truth, examining the collapse of institutions under algorithmic pressure and the rise of synthetic realities.” The author has, what I can only assume to be a real thing, “A Masters Degree in Truth from the prestigious Gallatin School at NYU,” which means that he’s fairly ideally suited to writing a book about how AI creates a danger of deepening our post-truth world and leaving us even further unmoored from an agreed upon reality.

I have a passing interest in this topic, but not enough for me to sit and read this book on the topic. In fact, I would have no real awareness of this book in the slightest if it weren’t for an interesting little tidbit unearthed by the New York Times. The headline? “Book on Truth in the Age of A.I. Contains Quotes Made Up by A.I.”

I mean, jeez.

Yeesh.

I don’t necessarily mean to pick on poor Mr. Rosenbaum, who I’m sure is a perfectly lovely man who does not deserve scorn, but… wow.

But it is an instructive book. I don’t know about the content, but context illustrates an important point about the condition of reality in our world. It seems silly to say that reality is a tenuous thing, but we are consistently failing to agree that there is a shared reality that truly exists. As this break from reality accelerates, we are given newer and more effective ways of obscuring the fact that any shared reality could exist.

The heartbreaking thing is that this book, as far as I can tell, was written with the full intention of being an earnest reflection on truth rather than an ironic subversion of it. This situation shows us both how hard and how important it is for us to be better at discerning what is real. It is not that this book, or that many of us, set forth with the intention of obscuring reality or bending truth to suit our arguments. It is that it is increasingly easier to slip into a false reality without even realizing it. And in the case of this book, the (mistakenly) fabricated quotes aren’t so consequential that they undermine our shared reality. But that isn’t always going to be the case. In this case, we can see the irony and recognize the breadth of the possible issues that arise from it. But it is easy to see this happening in true life-or-death situations, in which a lack of an objective reality carries significant consequences.

In some ways, I’m reminded of the Orson Welles radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. The years leading up to the production, in 1938, were filled with calamity and chaos. This coincided with the rise of radio as a prominent system of public communication, both news and entertainment. The radio drama was so realistic that widespread panic was reported (though, as with most things, who knows if that’s true).

New media; new technology; new ways of distorting, fabricating, or hallucinating a different truth than that which is true. It is not fair, but it is the case, that the burden of discerning that which is real falls to us.

I believe Pontius Pilate said it best in the gospel of John, “What is truth?”

Peace,

Rev. Jeff Fox-Kline

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As we navigate a world filled with competing narratives, shifting realities, and endless streams of information, perhaps faith calls us not only to ask “What is truth?” but also to seek it together with humility, compassion, and discernment. At Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, we strive to create space for thoughtful conversation, meaningful reflection, and a community grounded in grace. Come join us for worship this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. as we continue exploring life, faith, and the questions that shape us.