The information wars are about to get worse, Yuval Noah Harari argues
The author of “Sapiens” is back with a timely new book about AI, fact and fiction
“Let Truth and falsehood grapple,” argued John Milton in “Areopagitica”, a pamphlet published in 1644 defending the freedom of the press. Such freedom would, he admitted, allow incorrect or misleading works to be published, but bad ideas would spread anyway, even without printing—so better to allow everything to be published and let rival views compete on the battlefield of ideas. Good information, Milton confidently believed, would drive out bad: the “dust and cinders” of falsehood “may yet serve to polish and brighten the armory of truth”.
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Can you tell the truth?”
Culture September 14th 2024
- The information wars are about to get worse, Yuval Noah Harari argues
- Why many French have come to like “Emily in Paris”
- Paul Gauguin is an artist ripe for cancellation
- The riveting story of the longest-held American prisoner-of-war
- “The Perfect Couple” and the new map of Moneyland
- Tabloids are about more than trashy headlines
From the September 14th 2024 edition
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