cats, babies, squirrels, bears and light sabers
Image created with Gemini
This week I viewed a jaw dropping video on social media. A baby, was crawling in the front yard of a home surrounded by trees. Chaos ensues when a black bear charges out of the forest headed right for the baby. Amazingly, the family cat flew off of the front porch and with a vicious yowl hurled itself at the advancing bruin. This brave feline thwarted the attack and sent the bear scurrying back into the woods. Unbelievable.
As I scrolled my social media feed, I saw a similar incident involving a baby, a bear, and a heroic cat. And then, another. And another. I had no idea that front yard bear attacks were so common, or that cats -- normally indifferent in their affection for humans -- were so committed to rescuing babies. And, who keeps putting these kids in the front yard without supervision? Shameful.
Imagine my (feigned) surprise, and relief, when I realized that these videos were generated by artificial intelligence. Yes, cat people, I acknowledge that your feline is quite capable of surprising acts of bravery, but these instances were a little too good to be true.
A couple of thoughts on these AI videos:
There is a fine line between entertainment and potential nefarious influence. While cats saving babies from bears is relatively harmless (unless someone takes a cat into grizzly country instead of bear spray), the potential to utilize AI to spread misinformation is a reality -- one that gets more complex and more difficult to discern as technology improves.
Seeing cannot be equated with believing. We should not be dismissive of photos and videos, but we should view them with a critical eye and examine their source. This is especially important when we view media that has an impact on society, justice, and human dignity.
With the prevalence of cell phones, social media, and artificial intelligence, we need to do a better job of helping users learn how to vet information, analyze sources, and think critically about the media consumed. As a former educator, I'm thinking specifically of our younger generations, but a few minutes on Facebook will be enough to highlight the need for older consumers as well. Think of it as an executive function skill for the age of technology.
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good "cat saves baby from bear" video as much as the next person. This post is not a condemnation of the creator, just some thoughts on how "real" these videos have become and how we need to be careful about what we share as truth.
Remember when photo-shopped images of squirrels with light sabers was a thing? If you answered no to that question, you will need to do a Google search immediately. That is the kind of entertainment I'm here for -- cats, squirrels, bears, and babies with light sabers. Hilarious and entertaining, while wildly unbelievable.
Let's get on that internet.