There was a time long, long ago, when in my youth I would describe something really good as being "unreal".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But now that vague compliment seems more of a slur, as the world slides further and further away from reality.
We live in a time when robots decide whether or not I am a real person or another robot when I try to access information online.
Then when I finally do identify how many squares have buses, bicycles or US-style fire hydrants, my questions are invariably answered by chatbots.
Hang on, isn't the system designed to weed out robots?
But still these chatbots managed to get through to provide boring answers that were always close, but not quite, on the topic I asked.
And then there is AI, which is being used by scammers to duplicate voices, by people to write reports, to create photographs of things that have never happened, and so much more that I am not aware of.
So how can we trust anything we see or hear?
Of course technology is just trying to catch up with human trends that for decades have been modifying or changing the way we look, as if our real selves are not enough.
Implants, enhancements, augmentations, wigs, make-up that completely changes a person's appearance, clothes that turn a beer belly from a keg to a six-pack - fair dinkum it is out of control.
Is it any wonder so many people have trust issues?
Or is it just another symptom of a society that is deeply unhappy, filled with people not liking who and what they are, yet preferring short-cuts and cover-ups rather than making real efforts to change things?
No, those genuine changes would be something a little too real for this unreal world.
