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Teens Are Confiding in AI. Instead, They Should Help Shape It.

A call for civic culture

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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumDec 06, 2024
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Civic culture shapes how we treat one another and whether we care for our community. It shapes how we show up to solve common problems and whether we can disagree without hating one another.

The 2024 election reminded us of the deep fissures in our nation’s civic culture. At times it seems Americans are speaking different languages — based not on heritage but on partisan leanings — or that the dominant narratives of division are the only path forward.

But so much of this country is yearning for a different culture, a healthier way of being America. And countless community members are already doing so, even if they’re not getting the mainstream media coverage they deserve.

Our nation needs new “stories of us” that give common purpose and show how a stronger civic culture is possible — and happening. On Monday, Dec. 9, Citizen University will host a workshop for storytellers, journalists and content creators to explore how to tell "Stories of Us” that strengthen our social fabric and help America find a way forward.

The workshop is for trusted messengers who are telling stories that help Americans feel more hopeful, activated and sustained in fortifying their communities and strengthening democracy, such s:

  • Journalists and writers who cover topics around strengthening their communities and our democracy.
  • Storytellers and content creators who use their platforms to shape American consciousness for the common good.
  • Civic-minded Americans who are using their voice to catalyze more unifying and trust-building activity.

These civic practitioners will share a wealth of resources, tips and examples from the field of civic storytelling, messaging, and journalism:

  • Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University will discuss “Why civic culture.
  • Kevin Singer, communications support lead for Philanthropy for Civic Engagement will talk about “How Americans perceive civic language.”
  • Aya Taveras and Brooke Moreland, director of community and director of learning and design (respectively) at Cinereach will focus on “Civic storylines that change culture.”
  • Shia Levitt of News Ambassadors will talk about “Complicating the Narrative for good.”

Register now.


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After every defeat, organizations conduct autopsies. The good ones are honest, like NASA’s Rogers Commission report after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. In addition to identifying the infamous O-rings as the proximal culprit, it looked at organizational culture, communication failures, normalization of risk, management pressures, and institutional blind spots. The best ones are uncomfortable, and make a serious effort to understand “why did we mess this up so badly?” I’ve personally seen both good “autopsies” and bad ones throughout my decades of experience in true life-or-death realms: the SEAL Teams and as an Emergency Medicine physician.

Following the 2024 election, the Democratic National Committee produced a lengthy report titled Build to Win. Build to Last. Yet it is not a serious document because it does nothing to prepare for the unstoppable and very near future staring us right in the face. It is nearly 200 pages long and attempts to explain what went wrong and how the party should prepare for the future. It discusses organizing, communications, coalition building, fundraising, digital strategy, and voter outreach. It is filled with references to data, analytics, and technology.

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My Generation Can Spot the Deepfake. That’s Not Enough.

Thomas Massie, a seven-term Republican congressman from Kentucky, lost his primary on May 19. The race cost $32.6 million, making it the most expensive congressional primary in U.S. history. Among the weapons deployed against him: an AI-generated video showing him checking into a hotel room with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, with their hands clasped. The narrator called it "worse than adultery." A disclaimer at the bottom of the screen, in small text, read: "This satirical ad was created with artificial intelligence."

I watched the ad. It looks ridiculous. The movements are slightly too smooth, the lighting is off, and the scenario is so cartoonish that I genuinely could not tell at first whether it was meant to be taken seriously. But I'm 17, and I've spent the last four years watching AI-generated content get better in real time. I know what the seams look like. Massie, in his post-loss interview on Meet the Press, was blunt about who the ad actually reached: "It was actually very effective on the boomers."

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In Defense of “Crackpot Schemes” for AI Governance

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A democracy is only as robust and vibrant as the citizens who sustain it. Self-government depends upon people willing to deliberate honestly, reason carefully, and exercise judgment responsibly. With the emergence of AI, this obligation becomes even more consequential because these powerful systems can either deepen human agency or quietly erode it. They can either help citizens think more clearly and participate more meaningfully, or they can encourage the outsourcing of judgment itself and the slow substitution of synthetic plausibility for human responsibility.

Imagine, then, publishing a book warning humanity about the epistemological collapse supposedly ushered in by artificial intelligence. Imagine assembling endorsements from solemn guardians of the humanities, critics of automation, custodians of truth, defenders of interpretation against probabilistic sludge. Imagine presenting yourself as a kind of intellectual fire marshal standing before a burning building, yelling that people must immediately stop playing with matches.

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