Highlights: #180 – Hugo Mercier on why gullibility and misinformation are overrated
Mar 11, 2024
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Exploring evolution of skepticism and communication dynamics, AI's impact on information quality, psychology of belief and vaccination hesitancy, open vigilance, and belief dynamics. Delving into why gullibility and misinformation are overrated.
Humans evolved to accept more information from others, leading to discernment in communication.
AI could worsen the spread of misleading content, fostering distrust in online sources and disengagement from discussions.
Deep dives
The Evolutionary Argument Against Gullibility
Communication between species requires both senders and receivers to benefit. Humans have evolved to be accepting of more information from others, unlike more skeptical ancestors like chimpanzees, leading to the evolution of discernment in communication.
AI's Impact on the Information Environment
AI could exacerbate the spread of low-quality or misleading content, creating information clutter that erodes trust in online information sources, discouraging individuals from forming strong views and potentially leading to disengagement from public discourse.
Beliefs and Vaccine Hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy is rooted in human nature, with a portion of individuals in every society opposing vaccinations. The intuitive skepticism towards injecting potential diseases into healthy individuals is a prevalent factor, coupled with cultural variations in justifications against vaccination, reflecting universal underlying motivations of doubt across different populations.
These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode: