The Age of the Fantasist — Ep.4

My guest in episode 4 of Wrestling Darkness is Professor Lawrence Lessig who explains in his essay, The Age of the Fantasist, how and why algorithmic media came to reward narratives that lie to us.“The fantasist doesn’t worry that he will not please everyone. He’s not aiming for everyone. Indeed, he is aiming precisely to avoid appealing to everyone. Division drives attention in a world of fragmented media.” —Lawrence LessigPerhaps you’re not prepared for a conversation that bridges artificial intelligence (AI) and professional wrestling. Don’t worry, neither was Professor Lessig! But we did arrive at a helpful framework for decoding today’s media landscape, an important first step if we decide we wish to change it.AI selects for people (fantasists) that resemble professional wrestling because it knows such fact-free hyperbole causes people to click, to watch, and to share. The aggregate impact is a threat to humanity, Lessig warns, because it divides us, and thus, makes us ripe for the conquering.AI is “the most extraordinary technology humanity has ever even conceived of,” he said during harrowing presentation at TedxBerlin in February. But, it is one we need to watch “with the paranoia of the hunted.”If you like episode 4, the previous episode most closely related to this one is episode 2.—EricPS: I am entering a Fair Use battle with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and other corporations that own its content. Right now, the first two episodes of Wrestling Darkness are blocked on YouTube. The guests for these episodes have written books about professional wrestling and are critical of wrestling. But the Fair Use doctrine was not intended to insulate entertainment corporations from criticism by academics or journalists. The U.S. government defines the Fair Use as a legal doctrine intended to promote freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances, including nonprofit educational purposes.Regardless of the outcome, you can see all four episodes on Substack, and hear them on all the usual podcast apps such as Apple Podcast and Spotify.To support Wrestling Darkness and other content on the Eric Byler Substack feed, please subscribe or make a tax deductible donation. Get full access to Wrestling Darkness at ericbyler.substack.com/subscribe