Deepfakes, Doubt, and Making Choices

At work this week we were discussing the rise of deepfakes that are so convincing, one can't differentiate they from reality. A colleague suggested this is nothing new, that truth has always been a fiction - that two people can see the same thing and remember it differently, and media institutions have always played on this to push agendas, bias and spin. My view is that deepfakes are a category different - they fabricate the sensory evidence, not just modify it or provide a different interpretation of it.

But the conversation stuck with me for another reason. In an abstract sense, yes the world is all a construct of our senses, and so we all sense it differently. But the key is how we choose to collectively see.

For me it's not about trying to chase some unreachable objective truth, but instead building a shared commitment to some norms of truth. Not because these truths are eternal, but because they are useful fictions that help us live together. They create solidarity.

Vaclav Havel, who lived under communist rule so had a thing or two to say about truth, urged people to “live in truth.” For him it was less about fighting one ideological claim to truth with another ideological claim, but more about refusing to participate in the lie.

It does requires a degree of discipline; a commitment to be informed and switched on to duplicity, but that's the sort of effort needed to keep slippery truth above the dark water of rising lies.

And again, unsurprisingly, it comes back to o service for me. To serve is to choose a version of the truth that is decent, humane, and open to scrutiny. We don’t serve because we're certain - we do it because we’re committed.

Of course, people have committed huge crimes in service of grand ideals and truths. But the difference comes down to humility. Service listens. It doubts itself. It invites dialogue. It never claims to be the final word.

In a world of deepfakes and endless spin, the most radical act may be the most old fashioned - to live and work as though trust, honesty, and care still matter. Not because they’re guaranteed - but because without them, there isn’t much left worth faking.