Online Misinformation and “Phantom Patterns”

Epistemic Exploitation in the Era of Big Data

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21395083
AutoresMegan Fritts (0000-0002-0719-7585, autor de correspondencia), Fernando Cabrera (0000-0002-7327-610X), Frank Cabrera
Año2022
Volumen60
Número1
Páginas57-87
Fecha de publicación2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Southern Journal of Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-4283 • E-ISSN: 2041-6962
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjp.12451
OpenAlexW4206737810
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas42

In this article, we examine how the availability of massive quantities of data, that is, the “Big Data” phenomenon, contributes to the creation, spread, and harms of online misinformation. Specifically, we argue that a factor in the problem of online misinformation is the evolved human instinct to recognize patterns . While the pattern‐recognition instinct is a crucial evolutionary adaptation, we argue that in the age of Big Data, these capacities have, unfortunately, rendered us vulnerable. Given the ways in which online media outlets profit from the spread of misinformation by preying on this pattern‐finding instinct, we conceptualize the problem that we identify as a morally objectionable form of “epistemic exploitation.” As we argue, the consumer of digital misinformation is often exploited by having her pattern‐recognition instinct used against her. This exploitation is morally objectionable because it deprives her of an epistemic good to which she has a right. This epistemic good is the integrity of the pattern‐recognition instinct itself, which, we argue, is a capacity that allows us to participate in uniquely human goods. While our primary goal is to bring attention to this form of epistemic exploitation, we conclude by briefly evaluating some general solutions to the growing problem of online misinformation

Big data · Biology · Computer security · Deception · Epistemology · Instinct · Misinformation · Sociology · Computer Science · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology