DISCERN NOT CONSUME

I have just subscribed to a news agency that purportedly says that it's just pure news, no slanted opinions or twists on a news story.

If you really think about it, the social media and traditional media are feeding us with a constant barrage of one-sided opinions based on their political inclinations and predispositions.

Confirmation bias and more polarization based on entrenched positions are already creating enough havoc on our democracy.

There is too much consumption and very less on discernment. 

A few of my students used AI for an essay assignment. Some took the whole paragraph and pasted into their essays without understanding what they actually copied. I traced one paragraph to a Chat-GPT issued statement about "American Indians." They didn't know that a lot of ChatGPT-produced content is unusable. It wasn't coherent, accurate, and specific enough for many inquiries. 

Discernment is extra-rare these days. I would champion that everyone be more discerning, to critically analyze what they're getting from ChatGPT, do fact-checking, and use it with a grain of salt. 

Any human with a thinking brain should not only question the sources of any information but ensure that it is based on unassailable facts.

If you care enough about your impact and the legacy that you're creating, it's better to be silent than to spread more misinformation around, unknowingly.

Instead of having an auto-pilot on consumption, have it on discernment.